NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to a man accused of raping a 17-year-old girl, rejecting his claim that the incident was consensual because they were friends.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, while dismissing the plea under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, emphasised that “friendship does not give any licence to rape, confine, or beat the victim mercilessly”.
The court observed that the accused had failed to cooperate with the investigation, despite having his anticipatory bail applications withdrawn or rejected on four previous occasions. According to the FIR, the minor girl, who had known the accused for several years as a neighbour, alleged that he took her to a friend’s house, where he repeatedly assaulted and beat her, threatening to kill her if she disclosed the incident.
Rejecting the accused’s claim that their relationship was consensual, Justice Sharma stated that friendship could not justify acts of sexual violence or physical abuse. The judge also noted that medical evidence supported the victim’s statement, further strengthening the prosecution’s case.
The accused had argued that the FIR was filed 11 days after the incident. The court, however, dismissed this claim, noting that the delay was understandable given the trauma and fear experienced by the minor. “Quite naturally, it was owing to the fear and trauma of the said incident that the complainant had initially resisted disclosing the incident to her parents,” the order stated.
Finally, the court ruled that no case for anticipatory bail was made out. In her order dated October 17, Justice Sharma held that the serious nature of the charges warranted custodial interrogation and dismissed the plea.