A Delhi court granted bail to a man booked under section 4 of the Muslim Woman (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, for pronouncing talaq and committing gang rape on his wife. The Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar granted bail, stating that currently, the accused has a strong defence and is therefore entitled to bail. The case would be only clear after the completion of the investigation. 

BACKGROUND

As per the complainant, the accused pronounced talaq and then committed rape on her. He also included his friend Naseem to commit rape against his wife. 

As per the accused, he never pronounced a talaq, and therefore, he did not commit any offence u/s 4 of the Act. He further submitted that the complainant introduced a new story when she did not have a strong case. She introduced Naseem in order to book both - the accused and Naseem for gang rape. Moreover, the complainant herself confessed that she falsely implicated the accused in a family gathering. 

OBSERVATIONS

The Court noted that the accused had been in jail since July 2021, and, to date, the allegations of gang rape are unclear. To date, the IO was not able to identify Naseem. Moreover, the cell location of Naseem and the accused were found at different places at the time of the alleged incident. The Court also noted that the complainant refused to conduct an internal medical examination to prove the facts, and hence the case was completely based on oral testimony.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal