Ashok Haribhau Mate v. State of Maharashtra
In the High Court of Bombay
B.A. 1321/2020
Before Justice V.K. Jadhav
Decided on December 17, 2020

Relevancy of the case: Bail application in a case involving sending private photos to the complainant’s to-be husband

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 66E, 67B)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 376, 34)
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (Section 4, 8, 12, 14, 16)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The applicant was in a love affair with the complaint. They were in a consensual relationship from 2018 till her marriage was fixed with another person.
• With malicious intentions, he sent a message to her to-be husband, along with her obscene pictures from their time together.
• Due to his actions, her marriage broke off. After that, she divulged the information about the affair to her parents and filed a complaint against the applicant.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that the relationship between the applicant and the complainant was consensual. He further submitted that the applicant had no criminal history and was only 22 years old.
• The public prosecutor submitted that the complaint was merely 15 years old at the time of the incident, which immaterialised any consent she provided. Moreover, the applicant’s threats to leak her private photos succeeded in keeping her in the relationship.

Opinion of the Bench

• Despite finding allegations of rape, there existed consensual sexual relations between them during their love affair.
• There was an inordinate delay between the cause of action and the lodging of the complaint.

Final Decision

• The bench partly allowed the bail application.