Allahabad HC grants bail, orders rape accused to marry survivor in 3 months

The Allahabad High Court granted bail to the accused, citing his clean record and the principle of 'bail is a rule, jail an exception'

The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to a rape accused, imposing a unique condition that he must marry the victim within three months of his release, reported Bar and Bench.

 

Justice Krishan Pahal passed the order on February 20 while hearing the bail plea of 26-year-old Naresh Meena, who assured the court that he was “a bona fide person” willing to take care of the victim as his wedded wife.

 

“The applicant shall marry the victim within a period of three months of his release from jail,” the court stated in one of the bail conditions while approving Meena’s release.

 

However, the order does not clarify why such a condition was imposed or whether the complainant was consulted before the decision was made.

 

What is the case? 

Meena was arrested in September 2024 after Agra Police booked him under multiple sections of the law, including Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. The case was registered at Khandauli Police Station in Agra.

 

According to the prosecution, Meena allegedly lured the victim with a false promise of helping her secure a job in the Uttar Pradesh Police. He reportedly took Rs 9 lakh from her, sexually assaulted her, and later circulated an obscene video of her on social media.

 

During the bail hearing, Meena’s lawyer argued that the allegations were fabricated and pointed to a four-month delay in filing the FIR.

 

What did the court say? 

The court noted that the state failed to present any exceptional circumstances justifying the denial of bail.

 

“It is a settled principle of law that the object of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused at trial. No material particulars or circumstances suggestive of the applicant fleeing from justice, thwarting the course of justice, or intimidating witnesses have been shown by learned AGA,” the court observed.

 

Citing Meena’s clean record and the principle that “bail is the rule, jail the exception,” the single-bench bench granted bail, reaffirming the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

 

A similar case from last year 

This is not the first time the Allahabad High Court has imposed marriage as a condition for bail. In October 2023, the court granted bail to a man accused of raping a minor girl after he assured the court that he would marry her and take care of her newborn child.

 

The accused had allegedly raped the 15-year-old on the pretext of marriage, impregnated her, and later refused to marry her. A case was registered against him under the IPC and the Pocso Act at Chilkana police station in Saharanpur.

 

Justice Krishan Pahal, who also presided over this case, directed the accused to marry the survivor, provide for the child, and deposit Rs 2 lakh as a fixed deposit in the child's name within six months of his release.