Trouble seems to be mounting for Ollywood singer Sourin Bhatt with the Orissa High Court turning down his petition for pre-arrest (anticipatory) bail in connection with a sexual harassment case.
A single bench of Justice Chittaranjan Dash while refusing to grant the pre-arrest bail to the singer said the case requires an investigation with active presence of the petitioner.
“This Court does not find the case to be fit for grant of pre-arrest bail. Keeping in view the nature of allegations as emerged from the materials on record, the circumstances appearing, the seriousness and gravity of the offences, this court is not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the Petitioner. The prayer for bail accordingly stands rejected,” the Court order read.
“Having heard the submission of the parties and on perusal of the case record it may be said that in every case, where physical relationships continue for a long time and the relationship does not end up in a marriage, would be called a rape but in the case in hand apparently there appears materials prima facie to hold the Petitioner to have cohabitated with the Informant sometimes in the guise of getting her marry, sometime under the threat to get the objectionable photographs viral and it also reveals from the case record that the Petitioner did not disclose to the Informant that he is married having a child, rather committed to marry her and developed the physical relation. The Informant having come to know about the marital status when refused to continue relation, the Petitioner thoroughly blackmailed her to get the objectionable photographs viral and satisfied his lust thereby brings the allegations within the mischief of the offence U/s. 376 of IPC,” the order further read.
“The submission of learned counsel for the Petitioner that the Informant is matured and capable enough to sense the relationship to be one of consensual nature cannot be accepted at once at this stage. It is a plea just to avoid humiliation in the society. The case record reveals that the relationship continued since the year 2016 and a constant threat on the informant from the side of the Petitioner echoed in the mind of the informant that discontinuation of relationship with the Petitioner may prove abortive to her carrier and character. In such situation the relationship even though continued for years cannot be taken to be one with the consent of the Informant but under threat and compulsion. In any case, keeping in view the allegations, its gravity and seriousness in absence of material to deduce the allegations are only tarnish the image of the Petitioner; it requires an investigation with active presence of the Petitioner,” it added.
Notably, the woman had filed a police complaint against Sourin at the Mahila Police Station on June 12 accusing him of false promises of marriage, cheating, torture and exploitation. The accused had filed the anticipatory bail petition at the Orissa High Court fearing arrest.