Allahabad High Court Orders Rape Accused To Marry Victim As Bail Condition
The Allahabad High Court remarked that the accused and the prosecutrix were in a live-in relationship, and both expressed willingness to marry under the SMA.
The Allahabad High Court granted bail to a rape accused while ordering him to marry the victim (who is also his live-in partner) under the Special Marriage Act (SMA) as a bail condition.
The Court remarked that both the accused and the prosecutrix were in a live-in relationship and they expressed willingness to marry under SMA. The Court also considered that the FIR itself was a result of the trivial dispute between the parties
A Single Bench of Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan held, “Considering the fact that it is a case where the applicant and the prosecutrix are willing to live together peacefully and comfortably as husband and wife along with their infant child and since they themselves have decided the conditions for living together as husband and wife, therefore, in the interest of justice as well as looking into the larger interest of the parties and the infant child, and also taking into consideration the fact that the F.I.R. is the result of the trivial dispute between the parties and both the parties are ready and willing to get married and live together and also the fact that present applicant has no previous criminal history, I find it to be a fit case for bail.”
Advocate Karunesh Singh represented the Applicant, while AGA Bhanu Pratap Singh appeared for the Opposite Party.
Brief Facts
The prosecutrix, a Muslim woman estranged from her family due to her relationship with the applicant, accused him of breaching his promise to marry her. She alleged that despite their live-in arrangement and the birth of their infant daughter, she apprehended that the accused would misbehave and torture her.
The accused, in custody since September 2024, contended that the FIR stemmed from trivial disputes and that he was ready to marry the prosecutrix and provide financial support.
Court’s Reasoning
The Allahabad Bench noted that the interfaith couple was in a live-in relationship for a couple of years. The Bench further noted that both the accused and the prosecutrix wished to live together as husband and wife.
“The applicant has stated that he and the prosecutrix were living happily as husband and wife but on account of some trivial dispute between them, the prosecutrix lodged the impugned F.I.R. He has also stated that he is ready to get married with the prosecutrix under the Special Marriage Act, with expedition, i.e. as soon as he is released from jail, say within seven days after his release, he shall move an application under the Special Marriage Act, before the court concerned,” the Court remarked.
Consequently, the Court ordered the following as one of the bail conditions, “As soon as the applicant is released from jail, say within seven days from the date of his release the applicant shall move an application under the Special Marriage Act, before the court concerned and shall do the required pairvi so that the appropriate orders regarding their marriage be passed from the competent court under the relevant provisions of the Special Marriage Act.”
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the Bail Application.
Cause Title: Atul Gautam v. State Of U.P. (Neutral Citation: 2024:AHC-LKO:81431)
Appearance:
Applicant: Advocates Karunesh Singh and Vijay Pratap Singh
Opposite Party: AGA Bhanu Pratap Singh; Advocates Piyush Shrivastava and Prabhat Singh Rathour
