Mumbai Court Rejects Rape Accused's Plea To Open Pan Shop Near Victim's Residence

Mumbai: Right to livelihood is not absolute, as against the conditions imposed by the court while granting bail to an accused in a rape case, the sessions court said, rejecting the plea of an accused to open a shop in the very next building of the premises of the victim.

The sessions court has rejected a plea of a 51-year-old man seeking to relax the condition imposed on him while granting bail. The court had asked him not to enter the vicinity of the 26-year-old mentally challenged woman he is accused of having raped.

Court weighs bail conditions

The court said, "The Court is mindful that bail conditions should not be excessive, oppressive or unrelated to the purpose of bail. The present condition, however, has a direct nexus with the allegations in the present crime and with the location of the victim's residence."

"The balance of convenience is clearly against the relaxation sought. On one hand is the applicant's desire to resume his particular business at a particular location and the financial hardship pleaded by him. On the other hand is the need to preserve the distance specifically directed between the applicant and the victim in a serious sexual-offense prosecution, particularly when the proposed place of business is situated at the entrance of the building where the victim resides," the court said.

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Proximity to victim cited

The court further said, "The condition directing the applicant not to enter the vicinity where the victim resides continues to be necessary and proportionate in the facts of the present case. Granting permission to open the Pan Shop at the entrance of the building would substantially defeat the very object of the said condition and may expose the victim to avoidable and continuous proximity with the accused."

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