The Delhi High Court recently suspended the sentence and granted bail to a man convicted of raping a woman on the false pretext of marriage, whom he met her on dating App Tinder.
The convict had argued that the fact that he was already married was known to the complainant and they had met via online dating app, Tinder which is known for casual dating. He further added that her blog posts also showed that she herself did not believe in the idea of marriage.
In his order, Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta observed that blogs or posts put up by the complainant woman on social media appear to reflect that she had reservations about the institution of marriage and supported the idea of live-in relationship.
The judge said that this has to be kept in perspective since the blogs had been made prior to the alleged reporting of the incident and it appears that the initial sexual encounter was completely voluntary.
“Having regard to the evidence on record and the infirmities pointed out by the learned counsel for the appellant, I am of the considered opinion that the sentence of the appellant be suspended till the disposal of appeal and he be admitted to bail…,” the Court ordered.
Justice Mendiratta was dealing with an appeal filed by the convict against the judgement and order of sentence of the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ), Patiala House courts.
While he was convicted for rape of the woman, the Court acquitted him of charges of Section 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)..
