Mumbai Additional Sessions judge Sanjashree J Gharat granted bail to a Navy official on the grounds that the investigation in a rape case was over, but the court refused to accept the contention of the accused that a condom was found at the crime spot and it meant consensual sex with the victim.
According to the prosecution, the complainant woman’s husband, worked in the Navy and she resided with him in the Naval quarters allotted to the accused. Two Naval personnel shared the accommodation.
The complainant has said that on April 23, the husband of the complainant went to Kerala for a 5-month training. At that time, she was residing alone in her portion of the accommodation.
The complainant said that on April 29, the accused offered her chocolate and on the night o April 30, she had a severe headache. The accused came and asked her about it.
She sought some medicine, which he did not have. The woman alleged that a little later, the accused gagged her mouth and raped her. The woman said that she caught hold of a blade and tried to assault him, but ended up harming herself.
The accused even threatened that her husband would be falsely implicated. However, she narrated the incident to her husband and he immediately came and reported it to the police. A chargesheet was filed and the accused applied for bail.
During the bail hearing, advocate Nilesh Dalal, who appeared for the accused argued that he was being falsely implicated. He submitted that one more person was present in the house and it was not possible for him to rape her.
Dalal alleged that the husband and wife used to quarrel often about not conceiving a child and further argued that one condom was also found at the spot of incident, which shows that it was consensual sex.
Public prosecutor Kalpana Hire opposed the bail plea on the ground that though the investigation was over, there was every possibility that the accused might threaten the victim and her husband.
However, the judge observed that it appears that the grievance of the woman is that the accused took advantage of the absence of her husband.
“It is pertinent to note that the matter was reported by the complainant to her husband and also pointed out the self-injury caused by her. Merely because the condom was found at the site of incident is not sufficient to come to a conclusion that the complainant was having consensual relations with the accused. The possibility of the accused using the condom in order to avoid further complications cannot be ruled out.”
With this, the court further observed that investigation has been completed and chargesheet also filed, it added that, “It will take time to decide the matter on merit. Therefore, the accused cannot be detained for indefinite period.”
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