Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has rejected a rape allegation made by a married woman on the grounds of a false promise of marriage.
The court, while granting anticipatory bail to the accused, Vishal Shinde, emphasized that a married woman cannot claim to be misled by the promise of marriage when both she and the accused are already married.
Justice Manish Pitale, presiding over the case, noted that the complainant, who is married, knew that marriage to the accused was not possible. Therefore, the court found no basis for the claim that she had been coerced into sexual relations under false pretenses.
The case revolves around allegations made by a woman against Vishal Shinde, a man she accused of befriending her, making promises of marriage, and subsequently engaging in sexual relations with her.
The complainant also claimed that Shinde had threatened to release compromising videos of her online if she refused his advances. However, Shinde denied all accusations, and no evidence of any video being released was presented before the court.
During the court proceedings, Shinde’s lawyer argued that the accused had fully cooperated with the investigation, including submitting his mobile phone to the authorities for examination.
This, according to the defense, raised doubts about the credibility of the complainant’s claims. "Given that the woman is already married, it is hard to believe that she could be misled into thinking marriage was possible," Shinde’s lawyer contended.
Justice Pitale made a critical observation while passing the judgment, stating, "The complainant is a married woman. She cannot claim to have been exploited under the pretext of a false promise of marriage. Since she is already married, and the accused is also married, it was clear that no marriage could have occurred between them. Therefore, the basis of the accusation, which rests on a 'false promise of marriage,' does not hold."
