The Allahabad High Court granted bail to a rape accused while bizarrely holding the complainant responsible for ‘inviting trouble’. The case involves a woman who accused a man of raping her after a night out at a bar in Delhi.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh, from the Allahabad High Court while hearing the bail plea of the accused, made remarks that placed the onus of the alleged crime on the victim. The accused was arrested in December 2024 after the woman filed a complaint with the Noida police.
What Happened
According to the complaint, the incident occurred in September 2024. The woman, a postgraduate student from a Noida-based university, had visited a bar in Delhi’s Hauz Khas area with three female friends. There, she met a group of male acquaintances, including the accused.
She told police that after consuming alcohol, she felt intoxicated. The accused, she said, kept trying to get closer and repeatedly asked her to leave with him. Eventually, she agreed to go with him to “rest.”
However, instead of taking her to his residence in Noida as she expected, he allegedly drove her to a relative’s flat in Gurgaon. There, she said, he raped her.
The woman later filed an FIR at a Noida police station, following which the accused was taken into custody on December 11, 2024.
Allahabad High Court’s Remarks
While granting him bail, Justice Singh from Allahabad High Court said the woman was also responsible for what transpired with her.
“Even if the allegation of the victim is accepted as true, it can also be concluded that she herself invited trouble and was also responsible for the same,” the court observed. The judge also noted that the woman’s medical examination showed a torn hymen but added that no opinion on sexual assault was provided by the doctor.
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The court further remarked that the woman, being a postgraduate student, was mature enough to understand “the morality and significance” of her actions.
The accused, in his bail plea, claimed that the encounter was consensual. He denied taking her to his relative’s home or assaulting her.
After reviewing the case material, the court found it to be a fit case for bail and ordered the accused’s release.
