The Himachal Pradesh High Court recently granted bail to a man accused of rape on the pretext of marriage by a woman he met through dating app Bumble..Justice Virender Singh said that the accused cannot be kept in judicial custody for an indefinite period, as pre-trial punishment is prohibited under the law.“Keeping in view the specific stand taken by the applicant, qua her acquaintance on Bumble App and thereafter, coming to Dharamshala and staying with the applicant, cannot be ignored while deciding the question of bail. The Police is not able to make out a case for custodial interrogation,” the Court said in the order passed on May 23..The accused was arrested from Telangana on April 2 by the Himachal Pradesh Police after the woman, a resident of Bengaluru, filed a complaint with the Telangana Police. A Zero First Information Report (FIR) was registered in Telangana and later transferred to Dharamshala.The 31-year-old woman in her complaint said that she had created the Bumble profile with the hope of finding a life partner. On the dating app, she had come in contact with the accused in February. When she was on a solo trip to Dharamshala in February, the accused is stated to have joined her. She claimed that she was raped at an Airbnb accommodation booked by him. As per the complaint, the accused forced her to drink and then made sexual advances. When she resisted, he allegedly promised to marry her. After the act, the complainant later found put that he was already married. In her statement to the police, the complainant has also said that the accused recorded their private moments..In the bail order, the Court said that the complainant had taken a month to lodge a complaint. It added that this fact cannot be ignored at the time of deciding the bail plea. It further noted that they had met through Bumble, a dating app.The Court also observed that it would be proved during trial whether the physical relationship was consensual or the consent of the complainant was obtained under the pretext of marriage.“However, this fact, cannot be ignored that the prosecutrix travelled from Telangana to Dharamshala, as a solo traveller and stayed with a person, whom, according to her, she had not met earlier except remaining in contact with each other at Bumble App,” it added.Considering all these facts, the Court proceeded to grant bail to the accused..Senior Advocate Ajay Kochhar with Advocates Swati Sharma and Anubhav Chopra represented the accused.Additional Advocate General Tejasvi Sharma with Deputy Advocate General Rohit Sharma represented the State.
