A single judge bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court, comprising Deepak Kumar Tiwari, was adjudicating on a bail application filed by the appellant who was charged under Sections 376 and 376(2)(n), 323 and 506 IPC, inter alia.
The Court was inclined to give him a regular bail considering the intricacies of such cases where it becomes very important to determine whether the consent of the woman had a direct nexus to the false promise, if any, made to her for marriage. In this case, the complainant herself did not oppose the appellant’s prayer for bail. Thus, the appellant was granted a regular bail by the court.
Brief Facts:
The case of the prosecution is that the prosecutrix, a 26-year-old lady had lodged an FIR on 09.02.2023 alleging that she came in contact with the Appellant in the month of August, 2021 and at the relevant time, he was posted at Punjab National Bank, Kanker Branch and she was also posted in a Rural Bank in the same place and both resided in the same apartment. It was alleged further that thereafter, both had developed a love affair and under the pretext of marriage, the Appellant had sexually exploited her between February and December, 2022 and on 08.12.2022, when she had gone to the Appellant’s work place and called him telephonically, then he took her to his room and threatened her to make physical relationship with him otherwise, he would make her private videos viral as also threatened to kill her, therefore, the aforesaid offence has been registered against him.
Contentions of the Appellant:
The Appellant submitted that he is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the crime in question for which, he was languishing in jail since 10.02.2023. He further submitted that the prosecutrix is a married lady, who herself was inclined towards the Appellant and willingly developed physical relationship with him and there was no case of any resistance. He relied on the case of Shambu Kharwa vs State of Uttar Pradesh and anr. 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1032, wherein the court held that the false promise itself must be of immediate relevance, or bear a direct nexus to the woman's decision to engage in the sexual act.
Lastly, he submitted that the trial may take quite some time for its conclusion, therefore, he may be released on bail.
Observations of the Court:
The court also accepted the reasoning in Shambhu Kharwar vs State of Uttar Pradesh and anr., 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1032, as contended by the appellant. Further, it considered the facts and circumstances of the case, wherein the complainant also supported the prayer for bail of the appellant.
Thus, it became inclined to give a regular bail to the Appellant without going into the merits of the case.
The Decision of the Court:
A regular bail was given to the appellant.
Case Title: Ratnesh Sharma vs State of Chhattisgarh
Coram: Justice Deepak Kumar Tiwari
Case No: Cr. A No.637 of 2023
Advocate for the Appellant: Shri Goutam Khetrapal
Advocate for the Respondent: Shri Lalit Jangde
Advocate for the Complainant: Shri Utkarsh Shah
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