The court emphasized the importance of considering the totality of circumstances and personal liberty before granting anticipatory bail.

JUDGMENT :

Rajnish Bhatnagar, J.

1. This is a petition filed by the petitioner under Section 438 Cr.P.C. seeking anticipatory bail in FIR No.585/2021 under Sections 376(2)(n)/377/328/506 IPC registered at P.S. New Ashok Nagar.

2. In brief the facts of the case are that the instant FIR No. 585/2021 dated 18.11.2021, U/s 376(2)(n)/377/328/506 IPC was registered at P.S. New Ashok Nagar, on the basis of Zero FIR No. 0001/21 dated 07.10.21 U/s 376(2)(n)/377/328/506 IPC registered at P.S. Seelampur, Delhi, which was lodged on the complaint of the prosecutrix. The prosecutrix has alleged that she met a boy namely Manish Kumar Mishra @ Monu (Petitioner herein) S/o Lai Bahadur Mishra R/o Pure Durgadeen Tiwari, Bahorikpur, Purabgaon, P.S Gauriganj, Amethi Distt, U.P., through Facebook on 05.08.2019 and thereafter, they started talking with each other. In the first week of September 2019, Manish called her to go to Dehradun for celebrating his birthday, to which she agreed and on reaching Dehradun, they checked in to a hotel where she was provided breakfast by Manish and after consuming it, she felt uncomfortable and she laid down on bed for rest but she fell asleep. After waking up, she found herself undressed and covered in only bedcover. When she asked Manish what had happened, he said that he had engaged in sexual relations with her and he convinced her that he loves her and would marry her. After a while, he had also called her to his rented room i.e., H. No. B-44, New Ashok Nagar, Delhi, where he forcefully made sexual relations with her by blackmailing her and showing her obscene photos and videos of her with him and also, threatened her that he would send it to her family members if she refuses to have sexual relations with him. Thereafter, he also kept her with him in a rented flat at H. No. 63/64, Room No.16, U-Block, DLF Phase III, Gurgaon, from 23.10.2019 to 19.03.2020 and he used to threaten her that if she will not follow her instructions, he would kill her and her family and also, continued to sexually and physically assault her. He kept sexually assaulting her till 10.03.2021, but did not marry her. Further, he continued contacting her through phone calls and used to ask her to meet him and threatened her that he would harm her if she refused to meet him. Hence, the instant FIR was lodged on 18.11.2021.

3. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, learned APP for the State assisted by the Ld. DHCLSC counsel for the complainant and perused the status report filed by the state.

4. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that petitioner has been falsely implicated in this case and the relationship between the petitioner and prosecutrix was consensual. It is further submitted that the petitioner and prosecutrix became friends through Facebook in the year 2019 and were in a live-in relationship for about four months and had also travelled out of town. It is further submitted that the petitioner and the prosecutrix even went to Dehradun where they stayed for about three days and the allegations against the petitioner that some stupendous substance was given by him in the food/drink to the prosecutrix when they were in Dehradun are false and frivolous. It is further submitted that photographs of petitioner and prosecutrix were clicked by the mobile phone of the prosecutrix and the said photographs were posted on Facebook by the prosecutrix herself. It is further submitted that in order to defame the petitioner she has also uploaded the entire FIR on her Facebook. It is further submitted that the said photographs of the petitioner and the prosecutrix were taken when they were on trip to Dehradun, which shows her in a very happy disposition. It is further submitted that the allegations of transferring money online to the petitioner are false and that both the prosecutrix and petitioner transferred money to each other for their daily needs/ expenses as they were living in a live-in relationship. It is furthe