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The applicant, a distant relative, was initially called to the victim's house to take photographs. However, a dispute arose when the victim asked the applicant to delete the photographs. This led to an argument between the applicant and the victim's husband
The Bombay High Court recently granted pre-arrest bail to a man who was a distant relative of the victim in a rape case while observing that the relationship appeared consensual.
The plea filed by the applicant seeking pre-arrest bail was heard by a single-judge bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice NJ Jamadar.
The applicant, a distant relative, was initially called to the victim's house to take photographs. However, a dispute arose when the victim asked the applicant to delete the photographs. This led to an argument between the applicant and the victim's husband.
The husband not only verbally abused and assaulted the victim but also demanded that she leave the house, taking her gold ornaments and cash with her.
The victim left her house at 4 a.m. in the morning, accompanied by a friend of the applicant. She claimed that the applicant then took her to various places and sexually assaulted her forcibly, threatening to make the pictures viral.
The victim further alleged that the applicant coerced her into filing a complaint against her husband for harassment and cruelty. However, after confiding in the informant's mother, the victim decided to file a complaint against the applicant as well.
The high court while allowing the plea seeking pre-arrest bail of the applicant said that,
“In the face of this allegation, the contention that the first informant was forced to accompany the applicant’s friend and the applicant to various places on account of the threat to make the photographs viral prima facie does not appeal to human credulity. Since the husband of the first informant had already known about the alleged liaison, the threat of making the photographs prima facie does not constitute a sustainable justification for leaving the matrimonial home alongwith articles at the dead of the night,” the order reads.
Therefore, the bench proceeded to grant pre-arrest bail to the applicant and observed that the sexual intercourse appeared consensual.
“The material on record prima facie indicates that the first informant and the applicant were in a relationship outside marriage. The sexual intercourse appeared to be consensual,” the order states.
Case title: Atul Ramchandra Patil vs State of Maharashtra
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