The Allahabad High Court has granted conditional bail to the accused of raping a woman on the pretext of marriage and uploading obscene video of the victim on social media.
A Single Bench of Justice Krishan Paha passed this order while hearing a Criminal Misc Bail Application filed by Siddharth Rajbhar.
Applicant seeks bail in Case under section 376, 504, 506 IPC and 67 I.T Act, Police Station Bhaluani, District Deoria, during the pendency of trial.
The marriage of the applicant is stated to have been agreed to be solemnized with the informant/victim. The applicant is stated to have established a corporeal relationship with her on the pretext that one day, they shall get married and had subsequently, kept on dilly dallying with her and even uploaded certain indecent photographs of her on Instagram by making a fake ID of her.
The applicant is absolutely innocent and has been falsely implicated in the case with a view to cause unnecessary harassment and to victimize him. He has nothing to do with the said offence.
The applicant has not uploaded any indecent photograph of the victim. The general photographs of the victim have been posted with her consent. The said fact stands corroborated from the investigation taken by the Investigating Officer and also from the statement of the victim recorded u/s 161 Cr.P.C.
There is no criminal history of the applicant. The applicant has been languishing in jail since 12.4.2024. In case, the applicant is released on bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail.
A.G.A has vehemently opposed the bail application on the ground that certain photographs were found in the gallery of the mobile of the applicant, which were indecent, although no indecent photograph was found posted on Instagram ID of the victim. The victim is a major aged about 22 years.
Counsel for the informant has also opposed the bail application but could not dispute the aforesaid submissions of the counsel for the applicant.
The Court noted that,
In the judgments of Supreme Court passed in case of Pramod Suryabhan Pawar vs. State of Maharashtra and Another reported in 2019 (9) SCC 608 and Ansaar Mohammad vs State of Rajasthan and Another, reported in 2022 SCC OnLine SC 886, it has been stated that entering into any kind of corporeal relationship with a person on the pretext of getting marriage cannot be termed as rape.
The Court observed that,
The well-known principle of “Presumption of Innocence Unless Proven Guilty,” gives rise to the concept of bail as a rule and imprisonment as an exception. A person’s right to life and liberty, guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, cannot be taken away simply because he or she is accused of committing an offence until the guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt.
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states that no one’s life or personal liberty may be taken away unless the procedure established by law is followed, and the procedure must be just and reasonable. The said principle has been reiterated by the Supreme Court in Satender Kumar Antil Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation and another, 2022 (10) SCC 51.
AGA has not shown any exceptional circumstances which would warrant denial of bail to the applicant.
The Court said that it is settled principle of law that the object of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused at the trial. No material particulars or circumstances suggestive of the applicant fleeing from justice or thwarting the course of justice or creating other troubles in the shape of repeating offences or intimidating witnesses and the like have been shown by the AGA for the State.
“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, submissions made by the counsel for the parties, the evidence on record regarding complicity of the accused, larger mandate of the Article 21 of the Constitution of India and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the Court is of the view that the applicant has made out a case for bail”, the Court further observed while allowing the bail application.
The Court ordered that,
Let the applicant- Siddharth Rajbhar who is involved in aforementioned case crime be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to following conditions. Further, before issuing the release order, the sureties are verified.
(i) The applicant shall not tamper with evidence.
(ii) The applicant shall remain present, in person, before the Trial Court on dates fixed for (1) opening of the case, (2) framing of charge and (3) recording of statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C.
If in the opinion of the Trial Court absence of the applicant is deliberate or without sufficient cause, then it shall be open for the Trial Court to treat such default as abuse of liberty of bail and proceed against him in accordance with law.
In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail.