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Synopsis

In a recent ruling, the Allahabad High Court imposed stringent bail conditions upon a man accused of raping a woman under the pretext of marriage.

The bench of Justice Mohd Faiz Alam Khan directed that the accused's release on bail, among other conditions, will be subject to the condition that he will file an undertaking before the trial court that he will not contact the prosecutrix, any of her family members or any prosecution witness directly, indirectly or through any social platforms.

Apart that, he shall not display any picture of the prosecutrix as his DP on WhatsApp or Facebook, court ordered. 

It added that violation of this condition alone would be sufficient to cancel the facility of bail granted to the accused. 

The order was passed in a bail application filed by one Gufran who is facing charges of rape (Section 376) and criminal intimidation (Section 506) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

A 20-year-old woman had filed a complaint against him that he had engaged in sexual relations with her under the false promise of marriage and had also recorded a private video to blackmail her.

In his defense, the accused denied the allegations and contended that he was falsely implicated in the case. His counsel informed the single judge bench that the complainant had been in a consensual relationship with the accused since 2019. 

To press his argument further, the counsel for the accused submitted that the oral allegations had not been corroborated by any medical evidence as the prosecutrix had refused to undergo any internal medical examination.

He asserted that the sexual activity, which allegedly took place between the accused and the prosecutrix may only be termed as a consensual relationship of two adults and it could never be termed as 'sexual assault'. Therefore, the investigating officer has committed material illegality in submitting the charge sheet, he contended. 

More importantly, the court was apprised that the accused, having no criminal history, had been in custody since July 25, 2023 with the chargesheet already filed.

Taking into account the accused's incarceration since July 25 and his lack of a prior criminal record, the court granted bail, asserting that the accused's presence at the trial court could be guaranteed by imposing adequate conditions.

Case Title: Gufran v. State of UP