Delhi High Court grants anticipatory bail to 20-year old student facing rape charges from his ex-lover Professor [Read Order]

New Delhi: A single judge bench of Justice Saurabh Banerjee of the Delhi High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a 20-year-old man facing rape charges from his ex-lover Professor, with whom he had an affair for more than a year.

The brief facts of the case are that the woman (then about 33 years old) met the accused man (then about 18.5 years old) in February, 2022 in the college where the woman was a Professor and the man a student.

The two entered into an affair which lasted more than year, wherein the woman was impregnated twice. The woman further alleged that the two "got married in a small temple" in Manali (merely 3 months after they first met) while she was on an 'official trip' there, and promised to legally marry her in future.

She further alleged that she also met the family members of the applicant at his home who had no objection to their marriage.

Later she alleged that after coming to know about her pregnancy in April, 2023, the accused and his family forced her to abort the child, by administering a pill to her. Thereafter in June 2023, she shared with the accused the news of her being pregnant once again. After this, though he expressed happiness initially, he later took some money from her (about Rs. 2,50,000/-) and disappeared.

Following this an FIR was lodged on him at the prosecutrix Professor's instance under Sections 313 (causing miscarriage without woman's consent), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (Sexual harassment by relative), 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Accused's submissions

The accused submitted that while he did not seek to harm the prosecutrix, she herself had at various occasions "portrayed her intentions to intimidate him and his family." He further submitted that the FIR was filed with the sole intention to harass him since he was merely a student at the college where she was a professor, and that he has clean antecedents, is not a flight risk and shall not tamper evidence or influence witnesses.

Prosecutrix Professor's submissions

The Court says, the 35-year-old lady was married to her ex-husband at the time & was well aware of a married woman's rights, of legal marriageable age for males (21).

The court said that the woman, as a Phd holder was a woman of more than average intelligence and would have known at the time that the boy (who was merely 18.5 years old at the time of the affair) is not of marriageable age.

The woman had alleged that the boy had entered into sexual relations with her on the promise of marriage, and even had a mini-marriage with her in Shimla.

Notably, during the period of their affair, the woman claimed to have been impregnated twice.

Despite being well aware of all the above, the prosecutrix (the lady professor) chose not only to enter into a relationship with the boy but also continue with the same for more than a year, the court noted.

Hence it held that prima facie, she was in a relationship with the boy out of choice and desire rather out of  compulsion or force.

It further held, that "out of her own sweet will voluntarily chose to proceed with the applicant with open eyes, open ears and an open mind."

[Read Order]