The High Court of Bombay has granted bail to a rape accused who allegedly circulated nude photos & videos of the victim among her relatives & blackmailed her into having a physical relationship with him. The bail was granted on account of shaky evidence presented by the prosecution.The accused was arrested by the Borivali police in September 2021 & booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code & the Information Technology Act. His counsel told the single judge bench of justice GA Sanap that while he had spent over two years in jail, there had been no progress at all in the trial or even in the forensic analysis of his mobile phone, which was instrumental in the crime. The report of the analysis was awaited, he argued, pointing out the hypocrisy of the police in not seizing the mobile of the victim or her relatives for analysis. Given the shaky evidence, further incarceration of the accused was neither necessary nor warranted, he submitted.
Additional public prosecutor HJ Dedhia expressed his inability to submit the forensic analysis owing to inaction on the part of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Kalina, which had not submitted the report despite four reminders. However, considering the serious nature of the crime, the accused should not be granted on bail, he argued, especially because he could tamper with evidence & threaten witnesses.
The court noted that neither the victim nor her relatives were in a position to present the alleged videos evidencing their allegations since they had deleted them from their phones. Moreover, the prosecution was not in a position to make a concrete statement as to the time that would be taken for the analysis of the mobile data of the accused. Therefore, all the facts & circumstances were in favour of the accused, the court noted.
“In the facts & circumstances, in my view, further incarceration of the accused is neither necessary nor warranted,” the court said while granting the bail plea.
TAGS: Bombay High Court Bail granted Rape accused Nude photos and videos
