Man accused of marrying at least five women, Bombay HC denies anticipatory bail in cheating case [Read Order]

While hearing a cheating case, the Bombay High Court recently denied anticipatory bail to a man who concealed the fact that he had married five times. 
The High Court noted that there are proceedings of divorce by mutual consent filed in the year 2008, in which, the applicants wife was another lady P. These divorce proceedings were over resulting in divorce. There is another divorce proceedings still pending; filed in the year 2018, in which, the wife is named as K. 
 

Thus, there is sufficient material to show that the applicant has cheated many women. All this was concealed from the present first informant. Therefore, the offence of cheating is clearly made out apart from other offences. No case for grant of anticipatory bail order is made out, Justice Sarang V Kotwal observed. 
 

As per the FIR filed, the complainant met Kharat in April 2022 through a matrimonial site and two months later, they married.  After the accused allegedly sought financial help from the complainant, she gave him 7 lakhs. Further, he secured a loan of 32 lakhs by pledging her ornaments. 
 

After learning that the accused was perhaps having an affair with his coworker, the complainant returned to her parents' home in January 2023. 
She also discovered that, in accordance with the complaint, the accused had been married four times before to her marriage and that his first wife had died. 
The Police filed a case based on the complaint under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those pertaining to bigamy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust.
The accused, however, informed the court that he had only married the complainant and no one else after his wife passed away. Further, it was contended that the allegations in the FIR are not correct. 
Countering the grant of bail, the counsel representing the complainant submitted that there were documents showing that the accused had married other women.
 

The accused had not only married other women but was also the father of two children, the court discovered after reviewing the pertinent records. And since the offences were established, anticipatory bail was denied.

Read Order