The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to an individual accused of raping a postgraduate student, stating that the survivor “herself invited trouble” and holds responsibility for the occurrence. The accused, who was apprehended in December 2024 for allegedly assaulting the woman in Delhi, claimed that the act was consensual.
“This court is of the view that even if the allegation of the victim is accepted as true, then it can also be concluded that she herself invited trouble and was also responsible for the same,” Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh stated.
The court stated that, despite the medical examination showing a torn hymen, the doctor did not offer any definitive opinion on sexual assault.
The High Court noted that the survivor, as a postgraduate student, was mature and capable of grasping “the morality and significance of her actions,” as indicated in her statement to the police.
The incident traces back to September 2024, when a student from a Noida university went to a bar in Hauz Khaz, Delhi, accompanied by three female friends. There, she met several male acquaintances, including the suspect.
In her police report, the woman claimed that she became intoxicated after consuming alcohol until 3 am and that the accused repeatedly urged her to go with him to his home, legal news website Bar and Bench stated.
According to the complaint, she ultimately consented to accompany him to his residence “to rest” because of his repeated requests. The woman claimed that the accused inappropriately touched her during the journey and, rather than bringing her to his home in Noida, he took her to a relative’s apartment in Gurgaon, where he purportedly raped her.
The accused was apprehended on the complaint of the women in December 2024.
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Nevertheless, the defendant, in his bail plea, argued that the woman had willingly accompanied him, as she required help and wanted to rest. He refuted the allegation of taking her to a relative’s apartment or committing rape, asserting that the incident was a consensual sexual act.
The Allahabad High Court’s comments came a few days after the Supreme Court stayed a controversial ruling from the same court. A bench stated that behaviors like groping a girl, tearing her pyjama string, and trying to drag her do not amount to rape or attempted rape. Rather, the court categorized these actions as crimes of “aggravated sexual assault.”
The case in question involved two defendants who reportedly assaulted a girl approximately 11 or 12 years old. According to reports, one of them, Akash, broke the string of her pyjama and attempted to drag her beneath a culvert before escaping when bystanders interfered.
In response to the public uproar regarding the ruling, the Supreme Court acknowledged the issue and put a hold on the Allahabad High Court’s ruling.
