The Supreme Court granted bail to a 23-year-old influencer accused of raping a 40-year-old woman, noting the charges were false. The bench questioned Delhi Police for filing a rape case despite the woman’s voluntary relationship.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to a 23-year-old social media influencer who was accused of raping a 40-year-old woman. The court said that the case appeared to be based on false and frivolous allegations.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Prashant Mishra observed that the complainant had not been appearing before the court even though notices were issued to her.
The judges also took into account the arguments of the defence lawyer, who said that the relationship between the two was consensual.
Earlier, the top court had already given interim bail to the accused, pointing out that he had been in jail for nine months but the charges were still not framed.
At that time, the court had also remarked that the woman was mature enough to take her own decisions and that both parties were involved.
The bench had noted,
“not a baby” and “a single hand can’t clap”.
The court had further questioned the Delhi Police for filing a rape case when the woman had travelled with the man on her own will.
The bench made sharp remarks saying,
“A single hand can’t clap. On what basis have you filed a case under Section 376 of the IPC? She is not a baby. The woman is 40 years old. They have gone together to Jammu. Why have you invoked Section 376? This lady goes to Jammu seven times and the husband is not bothered.”
The case came before the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court had refused to grant bail, stressing on the seriousness of the charges.
According to the FIR, the woman first got in touch with the influencer in 2021 on social media. She was looking for someone to promote her clothing brand.
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During their first interactions, the man allegedly asked her to arrange an iPhone for better content creation. She managed to get it for him through an authorised Apple store in Jammu.
Later, their professional relationship turned sour when he tried to resell the phone. The money was returned to the woman’s account by the store but Rs 20,000 was deducted. The man promised to repay this amount.
In December 2021, the accused visited her home in Noida to return the Rs 20,000 and to say sorry. After this, he convinced her to travel to Connaught Place for a brand shoot. On the way, she alleged that he gave her sweets mixed with intoxicants which made her lose consciousness.
According to her complaint, instead of taking her to Hindu Rao Hospital as assured, he took her to a deserted area behind the hospital, raped her, stole money from her purse and also clicked her nude photos.
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The woman further claimed that after this incident she was forced to go to Jammu several times. There, she said she was repeatedly abused sexually, blackmailed, and threatened over a period of more than two years.
Based on her complaint, the police registered a case under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code – Section 376 (rape), Section 354 (assault on woman), Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), Section 506 (criminal intimidation), Section 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman), and Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
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