Shivani Thakur
Published on: May 2, 2022 at 15:36 IST
The Bombay High Court refused to Grant Anticipatory Bail to a man employed with the Police Department, who has been booked for raping a woman under the pretext of False Promise of Marriage.
A Division Bench of Justices SS Shinde and SV Kotwal was hearing a Criminal Appeal filed by Rupesh Koli, challenging an Order of the Sessions Court at Panvel, Maharashtra by which Koli was refused Anticipatory Bail.
In this Case, Koli met the prosecutrix on a social media platform. The virtual friendship turned into an intimate relationship after Koli promised to marry the prosecutrix in 2019, and he established physical relations with her.
The Prosecutrix claimed that when she got pregnant, she was given pills to cause miscarriage and the appellant gave her an assurance that he would soon marry her.
Subsequent to this, the appellant’s behaviour changed, and he often Assaulted the Prosecutrix.
Koli’s Counsel submitted that his client is in the employment of the Police Department, and his arrest would affect his career.
He lastly submitted that the parties had reached a Settlement, thus the Case should be closed.
It was further submitted that since the Prosecutrix belonged to the Scheduled Caste, and resultantly a case under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act was also made out against him.
“It appears that the physical relations between Appellant (Koli) and the informant were going on for a long time but they were based on the promise of marriage given by the appellant to her. Subsequently, he did not take steps to marry her. His subsequent conduct shows that he never intended to marry her right from the inception,” the Judges observed.
“…. In the background of the averments made in the Affidavit filed on behalf of the informant, possibility of pressurising her to Settle the Matter, cannot be ruled out. Hence no Case is made out,” the Judges said dismissing the Appeal.