No immediate relief to man accused of selling wife to friend

The Delhi High Court today declined to grant anticipatory bail to a man, accused of selling his wife to another man who allegedly raped her, but asked police to file a status report on his plea.
Justice V P Vaish asked police to file a status report by June 21 while hearing the husband's petition which challenged the lower court's order rejecting his plea for anticipatory bail in a case of rape, illegal confinement and criminal intimidation.
The case was lodged by the wife against the man, to whom she was allegedly sold, and her husband and in-laws for their alleged role in it.

The petitioner's counsel submitted that the FIR, registered with Hari Nagar police station, is only against the man who raped her but has nothing against his client, adding that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the case as the husband and wife were not on good terms for the past several months.
He accused the woman of misusing the police and law.
The counsel told the court that the rape accused is behind bars in the case and except the husband's mother, all other family members who are co-accused are out on bail granted by the trial court. The mother's petition is still pending in court.

Opposing the bail plea, Public Prosecutor Naveen Sharma told the court that the woman in her statement under Section 164 before a magistrate said that her husband and in-laws had taken money from another man and she was sent with him when she was in unconscious state.

She alleged that the man had raped her despite her pleading that she was married to someone else and was also mother of their child, the counsel said.
Terming te allegations as serious, the lawyer said that the "petitioner is involved in human trafficking. The husband of the victim had sold her to a friend."

According to the complaint, the couple had married in July 2010 at Arya Samaj Mandir against their parents' wishes and left for Hyderabad.
A year later, they returned to Delhi when the husband in connivance with his family members started ill treating her. She wa forced to sign some blank papers in January this year and later forcibly sent with the petitioner's friend.
Finally, on March 25, 2012 she managed to escape, according to the FIR.
The trial court had on May 21 had rejected the husband's anticipatory bail plea.