The Additional Sessions Judge, South-East District, Saket Courts, New Delhi allowed an application filed under Section 482 of BNSS, 2023 for grant of anticipatory bail to the accused in a case registered under Section 69 BNS for alleged sexual exploitation on false promise of marriage. The Court found reasonable doubt about the complainant’s marital status and legal freedom to marry the accused, noting multiple inconsistencies in her identity documents over the years.
The complainant alleged that she got introduced to the accused through Facebook in 2021 and they maintained talking terms for three years before meeting face-to-face for the first time in May 2024. The accused allegedly proposed marriage despite her disclosure that she was a single mother with a 14-year-old daughter. On the promise of marriage, the accused allegedly took the complainant for outings to several places outside Delhi on multiple occasions, during which the complainant acceded to sexual relations. However, later, the accused allegedly refused to marry the complainant on the pretext that they belonged to different communities.
It was argued that the accused sexually exploited the complainant on false promise of marriage and had been threatening to harm her with some fake identity proof. On the contrary, the accused contended that while he was friends with the complainant, he never promised marriage and that the complainant concealed the fact that she was still married to one with whom she had a daughter. It was submitted that the complainant had been changing her identity over the years in government records and initially created fake mobile phone chats but did not handover her phone for forensic examination, later reluctantly doing so after deleting all data.
The Court examined extensive documentary evidence revealing multiple identity inconsistencies. It was found that the complainant possessed two different Aadhaar Cards with different names, and frequently used to update them. Initially, the records identified her as the wife or daughter of a particular person, but in the latest update, the relationship and surname were changed. Similarly, the complainant’s PAN Card and Voter ID Card also showed changes in name and relationship details over time, raising reasonable doubt about her true identity and marital status.
The Court noted that the IO reported that the complainant had not provided sufficient information about her marriage with the person with whom she was married. In her reply to the IO dated July 1, 2025, the complainant stated that she met that person in 2010, who worked as a scrap dealer, gave birth to a daughter on October 11, 2011 in Rohini, Delhi, but got dissociated from him in November 2011 itself. The Court observed that this statement militated against her own identity cards that she had been using till 2024, as per which she was identified as the wife of that person and resided at Lajpat Nagar, South Delhi. The Aadhaar records showed that despite changing her address four times, on each occasion she identified herself as ‘wife of’ or ‘care of’ that person till 2024.
Accordingly, the Court held that there was a reasonable doubt and noted that the IO had filed the charge-sheet after completing investigation, that the present case was not one of forcible sexual assault, and that there was no report that the accused failed to cooperate in investigation. Conclusively, the Court found it a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail and directed that in the event of arrest, the accused shall be admitted to anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs.30,000 with one surety of like amount, subject to the condition that he shall not attempt to contact, threaten or harm the complainant.
Appearances:
State: R.K. Gurjar, Additional PP
Accused : Rajesh Kumar Singh alongwith Amit Bidhuri, Bhavna Malik, Saksham Verma, Yogesh Sharma, Bakul, Abhishek Bhati & Sagar Roy
Complainant: In person along with Vikas Bakshi, Advocate
