Mumbai, April 21, 2022 – The Additional Sessions Judge Smt. Sanjashree J. Gharat granted bail to Nikhil Prakash Chavan, accused in a rape, abortion, and defamation case registered at Gaondevi Police Station. The court cited the consensual nature of the relationship and the delay in filing the complaint as reasons for granting bail.

Chavan was arrested in connection with Crime No. 87/2022, registered under Sections 376 (rape), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent), 354-D (stalking), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 506 (criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and under Section 66(C)(E) of the Information Technology Act.

According to the FIR, the complainant and Chavan met in 2015 while working at Jaslok Hospital and developed a friendship in 2016. The complainant alleged that Chavan promised to marry her, introduced her to his father, and then engaged in sexual intercourse with her against her will. She claimed that he repeatedly had sexual intercourse with her under the promise of marriage, leading to a pregnancy that he forced her to terminate. She further alleged that Chavan later avoided her and sent defamatory letters and messages to her relatives through fake Instagram accounts.

Chavan, through his advocate Anthony Nadar, sought bail, arguing that the relationship was consensual and that the complainant was 27 years old at the time, while he was 25. He claimed that the abortion was performed with the complainant’s consent and that their marriage was fixed in 2018 but called off by the complainant herself, who allegedly had an affair with another man. Chavan denied sending any defamatory messages.

The prosecution, represented by Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Kalpana Hire, opposed the bail, citing the ongoing investigation and the possibility of Chavan tampering with evidence or threatening witnesses.

Judge Gharat, after reviewing the FIR and arguments, noted that the complainant and Chavan had a consensual physical relationship since 2015. The court also observed that the complainant ended the relationship and intended to marry someone else.

“After going through the FIR and argument advanced it appears that the complainant and Accused had consensual physical relation since 2015. It is alleged by the complainant that the consent was obtained by giving promise of marriage. However, at the instance of Accused she stopped the said relation and her family members started looking marriage proposal for the complainant. It is alleged by the complainant that at that time, the Accused forwarded the defamatory messages by creating the fake I.D. on the Instagram Account of her relatives. Per contra, the Accused claims that he was ready to marry with the complainant. However, it is the complainant who stopped the relation with an intention to marry with someone else,” Judge Gharat stated in her order.

The court also considered the delay in filing the complaint and the fact that the alleged defamatory messages were sent from accounts not directly attributable to Chavan.

“The facts remain that the relation between the parties were consensual. The complainant stopped the relation with Accused and intended to settle with somebody else by performing marriage. In the FIR, the complainant pointed out what are the defamatory messages received by her relatives in February-2022. So also, the said messages are also not received from the Account of the Accused. The Accused came to be arrested on 29.03.2022. The Accused also handed over his mobile phone to the I.O. Therefore, looking into the facts of the case the further custodial detention is not required,” Judge Gharat observed.

Consequently, the court granted Chavan bail, ordering him to furnish a personal bond of Rs. 30,000 with one or more solvent sureties of the same amount. The court also imposed several conditions, including:

• Visiting Gaondevi Police Station once a week.
• Not leaving Maharashtra without prior court permission.
• Submitting proof of residential address, phone number, Aadhaar Card, and Election Card.
• Not tampering with prosecution evidence or witnesses.
• Not contacting prosecution witnesses.
• Regularly attending court hearings.

The order, dictated on April 19, 2022, and signed on April 21, 2022, was uploaded at 5:57 PM on April 21, 2022, as certified by stenographer Y.M. Sakharkar.

This ruling underscores the judiciary’s consideration of the consensual nature of relationships and the timing of complaints in such cases. It also highlights the court’s approach in balancing the rights of the accused with the progress of investigations.