Sabu V.S. v. State of Kerala
In the High Court of Kerala
B.A. 9904/2022
Before Justice B.K. Thomas
Decided on January 04, 2023

Relevancy of the Case: Bail application in a case involving allegations of rape on the pretext of marriage and circulation of the complainant’s private videos

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66E, 67A)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 354, 342, 376(1), 376(2)(n), 506(i), 34)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 439)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petitioner promised to marry the survivor and subsequently committed rape on multiple occasions.
• The petitioner and the survivor had a consensual relationship before the alleged occasions when the survivor was raped. He also threatened to circulate her private videos.
• The accused number 4, later, circulated her private videos through the internet.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that the promise to marry does not arise as the petitioner is a married man, which the survivor was aware of. His continued detention is baseless as the investigation is almost complete.
• The public prosecutor submitted that the Investigation Officer is yet to receive the forensic report. Moreover, the police is yet to arrest the accused number 4. Therefore, the court must not grant bail.

Opinion of the Bench

• The petitioner has already undergone detention for two months. Continued detention is not necessary.

Final Decision

• The court allowed the bail application with certain conditions.

Nikita D’Lima, an undergraduate student at NMIMS School of Law, Navi Mumbai, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2023.