Friendship No License to Rape, Says Delhi HC While Denying Anticipatory Bail to Accused

The Delhi High Court has observed that friendship does not give an accused the license to repeatedly rape a victim, while dismissing the anticipatory bail plea of a man accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma made the observation while rejecting the plea of a man, accused under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

“Even if the parties concerned were friends, friendship does not give any license to the applicant to rape the victim repeatedly, confine her in his friend’s house and beat her mercilessly, as prima facie disclosed by the complainant in her statement recorded under Section 183 of BNSS, duly corroborated by the medical records,” the Court said.

Court also noted that the applicant had not yet joined the investigation, despite his bail applications having been withdrawn or rejected on four earlier occasions. Observing that the allegations were serious and corroborated by material on record, the judge concluded that no case for grant of anticipatory bail was made out.

“Accordingly, the present application stands dismissed. It is, however, clarified that nothing observed herein shall be tantamount to an expression of opinion on the merits of the case,” Justice Sharma stated

The case arises from FIR registered at Police Station Sangam Vihar, Delhi, for offences under Sections 64(2), 115(2), 127(2), 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 4 of the POCSO Act.

According to the FIR, the 17-year-old victim had known the accused, a neighbour, for about three to four years. On June 26, 2025, she went to meet him near Hamdard, from where he took her to his friend Nikhil’s house in Govindpuri. There, he allegedly assaulted, confined, and raped her multiple times, before releasing her around 10 p.m.

Out of fear and trauma, the minor did not initially inform her family or police and even refused medical examination when first taken to the police station. On July 5, 2025, after an altercation between her mother and the accused’s family, she finally disclosed the incident to her mother, leading to registration of the FIR

The medical examination conducted later at AIIMS revealed a linear bruise under her left eye, a mild abrasion on the posterior fourchette, and a broken hymen, corroborating her statement

The High Court rejected the defence argument that the delay in lodging the FIR suggested a consensual relationship, holding that the victim’s silence was explained by her age and trauma.

“Being a minor, she was under trauma and a sense of shame that had precluded her from disclosing anything to her parents or the police,” the court observed, noting that her statement under Section 183 of BNSS was consistent and medically corroborated

Emphasizing the seriousness of the allegations, the Court said that friendship could not be used as a defence against repeated acts of sexual violence and physical assault.

Finding no merit in the plea, the Court dismissed the application on October 17, 2025.

Case Title: SUMIT SINGH v. STATE NCT OF DELHI AND ANR

Bench: Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma

Order Date: 17 October 2025