New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Wednesday granted bail to a man accused of raping a woman on the false promise of marriage, and cheating her of Rs 1.2 crore. The duo had met on a dating app.
Justice Vikas Mahajan observed: “It is not in dispute that the complainant and the petitioner met on a dating app ‘Hinge’ and not on a matrimonial app.”
There had been several WhatsApp messages between them, the court said, adding that in none of the messages was a promise to marry made by the accused. It felt that “prima facie, the sexual intercourse appears to be consensual”.
The court was hearing a bail application filed by one Anil Nirwan, who had been booked in 2022 under sections 376 (rape) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the order, the accused and the complainant met on the dating app ‘Hinge’ in December 2020, and fell in love. The duo planned to meet in Delhi on 6 January 2021. However, on 5 January, Nirwan told her that he was down with malaria and needed hospitalisation. He, therefore, requested the complainant to pay him Rs 25,000 and promised to return it after April 2021.
According to the complaint cited in the high court order, Nirwan visited Delhi in February and again in September. During this time, the complainant alleged that they had sexual intercourse on the pretext of marriage and long-term companionship. She also alleged that she loaned him Rs 1.2 crore for his treatment.
The prosecution had alleged that the accused misrepresented his medical condition based on which the complainant paid substantial amounts to him for his treatment.
In his defence, Nirwan’s lawyer told the court that he had not made any promise to marry the complainant. He also asserted that they had met on a dating app and not a matrimonial app, and said the allegation of a false promise of marriage was only an afterthought.
‘Erotic stories’
During the hearing in the high court, Nirwan’s lawyer highlighted the complainant’s cross-examination before the trial court.
According to the order, during her cross-examination, the complainant had admitted to sending “erotic stories” to Nirwan through WhatsApp.
He also countered the allegation that many obscene photographs and videos of the complainant were recovered from his mobile phone, contending that she had herself admitted that such photographs and videos were prepared with her consent.
Based on such contentions, the court opined that “prima facie, the sexual intercourse appears to be consensual and there does not seem to be any false promise of marriage or the consent having been obtained on a misconception of any fact”.
As for allegations of cheating the complainant of money, Nirwan’s lawyer submitted that the money paid to him was for hotel bookings, among other things, as she desired. He submitted that she had made the subsequent payments voluntarily.
The court found weight in this submission, and observed, “It is the case of the prosecution that the first payment of Rs 25,000/- was made by the prosecutrix to the petitioner on 11.01.2021 as loan for his treatment of malaria, on the promise made by the petitioner that he will return the same after April 2021. It is not understandable that if the said amount was not repaid by the petitioner, then why the prosecutrix continued to make huge payments to the petitioner.”
It also noted that, during her cross-examination, the complainant had admitted that whatever money she had given to Nirwan was meant to help him, and this was done out of her love and affection for him.
‘Gaps in prosecution’s version’
The court opined that the probative value of the evidence, and the credibility and reliability of the prosecution witnesses, will be judged by the trial court, but said the high court “cannot be unmindful of the gaps that have appeared in the version projected by the prosecution”. This, it asserted, tilts the balance in favour of Nirwan for the grant of regular bail.
The court noted that Nirwan did not have a criminal record and that the investigation is complete. It also noted that the prosecution had cited 18 witnesses, and only seven had been examined so far. It, therefore, felt that the conclusion of the trial was not possible anytime soon. Since Nirwan had been behind bars since May 2022, the court said that he “cannot be kept in custody for an indefinite period to await the conclusion of trial”.
Nirwan was, therefore, granted bail on the condition that he shall appear before the court whenever the matter is taken up for hearing and will provide his mobile number to the investigating officer (IO). This number has to be kept in working condition at all times, and shouldn’t be changed without prior intimation to the IO.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)