New Delhi : The Supreme Court has granted protection from arrest to a man, during the investigation of rape allegations levelled against him by his ex-wife. Over four years ago, 29-year-old Paras @ Parvez fell in love with a Muslim woman. He overlooked her credentials, allegedly an active sex worker, and converted his religion from Hinduism to Islam, and married her, as per Muslim rituals and rites in April 2019.
However, the love story has gone sour, the woman divorced the husband in July 2019, and filed an FIR in April 2023, alleging he had attempted to push her into prostitution, raped her, and also blackmailed her with objectionable pictures. Paras moved the apex court challenging a Rajasthan High Court order, which declined to grant him protection from arrest. On September 15, the apex court granted him interim protection from arrest and directed him to cooperate in the investigation.
The apex court, in an order passed on December 13, 2023, gave him absolute protection from arrest during the investigation. “Heard learned counsel for parties. Learned counsel for the State submits that now the appellant is cooperating. In view of the above, we consider appropriate that the interim order dated 15.09.2023 be made the final order in the appeal. The appeal stands disposed of”, said a bench comprising justices S K Kaula and Sudhanshu Dhulia. Advocate Namit Saxena, represented Paras before the apex court.
The Rajasthan government had submitted before the apex court that the investigation in the matter against the petitioner is pending, and it should also be taken into consideration that earlier when the complaint was filed the petitioner was on the run from the police. The state government said that it was only after the order dated August 3, 2023, passed by the High Court for Rajasthan wherein a no coercive order was passed, the petitioner/accused joined the investigation before the police.
The state government, while opposing protection from arrest for the petitioner, said the prosecutrix gathered the courage to come out in open to file this complaint against the accused person and stressed that the psychology of prosecutrix needs to be kept in mind while deciding the matter at hand.
“Only the conclusion of trial will be appropriate and apt in the present case to decide the matter at hand. The prosecutrix who is also the sufferer in this case should not be denied her legal remedy by granting interim bail to the Petitioner…..the accused needs to stand the test of trial for the alleged crime he has committed and also bear the consequences which he has led himself into”, said the state government.
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