Thane Sessions Court Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Raping Divorced Woman, Cites Delay In FIR And Consensual Relationship

Thane: The Thane Sessions court has granted bail to a man accused of allegedly raping a 26-year-old woman stating that the woman who is already divorced, it is improbable that such a woman would not complaint about rape and that too immediately after the alleged incident. The court in its orders have thus granted the accused with a bail of Rs 50,000.

Court Finds Lack Of Evidence To Support Allegation

“The complainant is 26-year-old divorced woman with seven years old son and it is improbable that she would not complain about rape in such circumstances immediately after the incident. Even though it is alleged in F.I.R. that the applicant took photos of sexual relations between him and the complainant, but no such photos could be obtained during the investigation. Hence, the contention does not appear to be probable,” maintained the court.

Court Notes Relationship Was Consensual And Long-Term

The court relied on the on the nature and duration of the relationship between the accused and the 26-year-old divorced complainant, as well as the delay in filing the First Information Report (FIR), while deciding on the bail application.

The court’s order noted that the complainant and Manish Joshi had a physical relationship for a considerable period, from 2023 until May 8, 2025. The court observed that the relationship appeared to be a "consensual sexual relations and failed love affair."

The FIR was filed on July 23, 2025, more than three months after Joshi allegedly refused to marry the victim. The court found "no explanation of filing belated F.I.R."

Court Cites Precedents On Consent And Promise Of Marriage

The court has relied on rulings from superior courts, including the cases of Dr. Dhruvaram Vs. The State and Ramdas Vs. State, to draw a distinction between a false promise to marry made to induce sexual consent (which constitutes an offence) and a subsequent breach of a promise where the initial consent was based on mutual love.

The court specifically stated, "consent by prosecutrix under promise of marriage not every breach of such promise would attract offence under Section 376 IPC (now Section 64 BNS). Where prosecutrix gives consent out of her love and where accused fails to marry to prosecutrix due to some reasons, consensual sex in such cases would not attract offence under Section 376 IPC."

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Strict Bail Conditions Imposed

Despite the grant of bail, the court imposed strict conditions to address the prosecution's fears of witness tampering, especially since the victim is "accessible" to the applicant.

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