Punjab & Haryana HC grants bail to man accused of rape on pretext of marriage

Chandigarh, Jun 11 (PTI) The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted bail to a man accused of rape on the false promise of marriage observing "a no strings attached" equation between him and the complainant couldn't be ruled out.

Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj's bail order noted that the man and the woman worked in the same company and the transcript placed on record by the petitioner indicated a "long standing cordial relationship" aside from the possibility of the "relationship being without any commitment and with no strings attached" couldn't be ruled out.

The Badshahpur Police Station in Gurugram booked the man on February 21 under Sections 69 (sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means etc.) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

It came on record that the man was the woman's senior at work and they met in April 2024.

The petitioner was alleged to have promised to marry the women and lured her to have sexual relations with her.

In January, when the woman reportedly asked him to marry, he declined, prompting the her to approach the police.

It also came on record that she had conceived during their relationship and suffered a miscarriage due to stress and weakness.

The petitioner's counsel argued his client was "maliciously" accused of rape and claimed before the registration of the FIR, an investigating officer was appointed on the woman's complaint made on January 15.

The statements of the parties were recorded by the inquiry officer, who recorded a finding that they were "co-workers" and "good friends" for the last 10 months and were in a consensual relationship and no coercion was used to establish sexual relations, the counsel argued.

It further came on record that the complainant made a second complaint before the ACP Gurugram in February which became the basis of the FIR following which the man was arrested on April 17.

Interestingly, the man's counsel argued that the complainant was aware of the fact that his client was already in a 12-year relationship with another woman and there was no assurance, commitment or allurement on his part to enter into any matrimony with the former.

He placed on record a purported conversation between the petitioner and the complainant in which she acknowledged their relationship began with no assurance, allurement, inducement or promises.

Relaying on the recording, the counsel claimed she threatened him of not leaving him till she married to somebody else.

"It is also noticed from the transcripted conversation that the complainant has expressed her obsession about the petitioner and has threatened that she would not allow him to marry anybody else till such time she herself gets married to anybody else and settle in her life," the court noted.

As seen from the recording, the court said, the woman was aware of the man's relationship with another woman with whom he had contemplated to tie the knot, but threatened to expose him in front of the other woman.

"Even though it is a selective extraction of the conversation that had taken place between the petitioner and the prosecutrix complainant, it shows that the allegations as levelled by the complainant may prima facie give strength and force to the suggestion of the petition that there was an element of free volition and no commitment," the court said.

The court further referred to the initial police inquiry concluding that it was a consensual relationship and did not attract the rigors of the offence of rape.

"Even if the allegation of the complainant getting pregnant as a result of relationship with the petitioner is prima facie accepted, it is not disputed that there was no role of the petitioner in termination of the foetus. Be that as it may, the pregnancy may at best be a proof of physical intimacy between the parties, which such fact is also not disputed or denied by the petitioner herein," the order said.

The judge added, "The criminality in the instant case is not due to physical intimacy but as to whether such sexual relationship was sought on the deceitful premise of getting marriage or not." The offence required to be established, the court held, must precede the relationship between the parties.

"The contemporaneous evidence does lean to some extent in favour of the petitioner as well, however, the actual assessment thereof is to be done at the stage of trial," the order read.

Refraining from commenting further, the court said the investigation was complete and had culminated into a chargesheet whereas the trial would take considerable time.

"The petitioner has also undergone an actual custody of 1 month and 16 days and does not suffer from any criminal antecedents...petitioner is ordered to be admitted to regular bail subject to his furnishing bail/surety bonds..," the court said. PTI SUN AMK AMK