ABA to man accused of raping mum-in-law

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Monday granted anticipatory bail to a man accused of having forced sexual relations with his mother-inlaw after it accepted his contention that the complaint was intended to put him under pressure once he started divorce proceedings against his wife.

The man told the court that the accusations against him date between 2018 and 2020, while the complaint was only lodged in 2021 after the accused and his wife initiated proceedings for divorce and domestic violence against each other, respectively.

The court further accepted the accused’s contention that if he had sought sexual favours from his mother-in-law in February 2018, then she would not have permitted him to marry her daughter in June of that year.

Advocates for the accused Dimple Joshi and Krishna Khatri i nformed the single bench of justice Sarang Kotwal that their client had filed for divorce in March 2021. His estranged wife filed a case of domestic violence against him in November and his mother-inlaw lodged her complaint on December 2. The fact that his wife’s and mother-in-law’s complaint were filed within a gap of eight days indicated that they were trying to pressure him.

The mother-in-law’s complaint stated that the accused was the secretary of a building in Ulhasnagar where she resided.

In February 2018, when she was alone in her home, the man came over on the pretext of collecting dues but sought sexual favours from her, threatening to defame her if she refused.

Later that year, her daughter fell in love with the accused and married him in June. The couple had a child in July 2019.

The mother-in-law’s complaint further states that the accused visited her in February 2020 and raped her.

Additional public prosecutor A A Takalkar opposed the anticipatory bail and asked the court to direct the accused to visit the police station as the complaint was also filed under section 377 (“voluntary carnal intercourse with any man, woman or animal against t he order of nature”) of the Indian Penal Code which carries a punishment of upto 10 years.

“The allegations in the FIR do not inspire confidence about their truthfulness,” the court observed, granting pre-arrest bail and directing him to attend the police station and cooperate with the investigation.