Karnataka High Court grants Bail to Rape Accused, states relationship was Prima Facie Consensual

Karnataka High Court Law Insider

Shivani Gadhavi

Published On: January 24, 2022 at 15:56 IST

The Karnataka High Court granted Bail to a man Accused of Rape, while stating that the relationship between the Complainant and the Accused seems to be consensual.

The matter is pertaining to the case of Manoj Kumar M R v. State of Karnataka and Ors. Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar of the Karnataka High Court was hearing the case of the Accused (Appellant in this case), who Allegedly Raped a 27-year-old woman and did not agree to marry her due to differences in their cast, and also attempted to strangulate the Complainant.

Justice Sreenivas Harish Kumar stated, “The age of the second Respondent is 27 years. She knew the consequences of having intercourse with the Appellant…. It is difficult to arrive at a conclusion at this stage that the Appellant used to have sexual intercourse with the second Respondent forcibly.”

The Appellant in the present Case is charged of Offences under Section 376 (Punishment for Rape), Section 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent), Section 307 (Attempt to Murder) and Section 417 (Cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Offences under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Counsel for the Appellant in the present case stated that the Petitioner should be granted Bail as the relationship between the Respondent No 2 (Complainant) and the Appellant was consensual and that both of them gave their consent for termination of pregnancy. Advocate Hasmath Pasha contended that the woman is a 27-year-old woman, who knew the consequences of the relationship she had with the Appellant.

The Counsel for Respondent No. 2 argued that the Petitioner forcefully had sexual intercourse with the former under false promise of marriage. When the Petitioner found out the caste of the woman, he refused to marry her.

The Court stated, “Therefore, in the light of all these facts and circumstances, it is not difficult to arrive at a conclusion that the Appellant has been able to make out a Case for grant of Bail.”

The Court in this regard granted Bail to the Petitioner while disposing of the Case. The Petitioner was released within a Bail Bond of INR 2 Lakhs.

Also read: Understanding Rape in the Light of Landmark Judgements

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