Bombay HC Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Raping A Woman At Her Husband's Behest

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to a man who was accused of raping his friend's wife at his behest. As the investigation regarding the case is still pending and because the series of events is not clear,  the court has granted bail to the accused.

While giving out its decision, the court also pronounced that since the alleged act was carried out at the behest of the woman's husband, it did not attract rape charges under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

"Prima facie it appears that section 376 may not be attracted against the applicant. Since the trial is pending, giving such finding is not warranted. The applicant is in custody for a period of about one and half year," said Justice PD Naik of Bombay HC, while granting bail to the accused, as per a report by Times Now.

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The man was accused of raping his friend's wife between 2015 and 2018 and was arrested during the course of the investigation. The survivor in her complaint had earlier mentioned that her husband forced her to have sexual relationships with other people in his presence.

According to the details given by the complainant, she got married in 2009 to a merchant navy personnel. The woman alleged that in 2015 when he was not on duty, her husband invited his friends to their house. During the visit to their house, the accused consumed alcohol and allegedly sexually assaulted the woman.

In her complaint, she has further alleged that the next day, her husband revealed that he had recorded the sexual act. According to the complainant, her husband told her that he had himself asked his friend to have sex with her. After which at various instances her husband forced her into a sexual relationship with his friend, threatening that he would make the video viral if she didn't comply with his demands.

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In 2019, the woman finally lodged a complaint against the husband and other people who sexually assaulted her at her husband's behest. The survivor has also alleged that her husband forced her to have unnatural sex with him, the Hindustan Times reported.

Sanskriti Tiwari is an intern with SheThePeople.TV.