HC: Being govt employee no ground for bail in rape case

 HC: Being govt employee no ground for bail in rape case

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TIMES NEWS NETWORK

01.02.2022

Bengaluru: The petitioner may be a government employee but that is not a ground to enlarge him on bail when he is accused of a serious offence like rape, the high court observed in a recent order. It denied bail to an assistant executive engineer from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL).

Dismissing the petition filed by assistant executive engineer HN Srinivas Murthy, justice HP Sandesh pointed out that prima facie, medical evidence as well as the CrPC section 164 statement made before the magistrate disclosed the fact that he had sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman.

The judge noted that the woman clearly stated before the magistrate that the petitioner subjected her to a sexual act against her wish and had also threatened her.

“She said her marriage had been fixed but the accused after sexually assaulting her, promised that he would marry her and also issued her a life threat.

Besides, medical evidence too is clear that her hymen was torn and the doctor is of the clear opinion that she was subjected to sexual act and material collected does not rule out the same,” the judge added.

Srinivas Murthy, who is accused of raping the woman at a homestay on September 14, 2021, had claimed he is a government employee and there had been a delay of one and a half months in lodging the complaint. According to him, the incident was alleged to have taken place on September 14, 2021, but the complaint was lodged before Kumaraswamy Layout police on November 3 and he has been in custody since November 14.

His counsel claimed no force was used in the alleged sexual act and if the petitioner continued to be in custody, it would affect his career.