Sakur Manjur Khan v. State of Maharashtra
In the High Court of Bombay
B.A. 960/2017
Before Justice A.S. Gadkari
Decided on February 21, 2018

Relevancy of the case: Bail application in a case involving rape allegations and circulation of video recording of the act

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67A)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 504, 507, 509, 376(2)(n), 377, 34)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• Initially, FIR was lodged against the applicant for sending obscene messages and photographs to the first informant’s mobile phone and threatening to break her prospective marriage.
• In her supplementary statement, the first informant stated that in December 2015, the applicant’s wife called her at her residence and gave her a cold drink which was spiked with drugs, and the applicant raped her.
• Further, the prosecution submits that the applicant threatened her with the circulation of the video recording of the above intimate act and forced her to submit to his illegal demands and, from time to time, forced her to have sexual intercourse with him.
• The applicant then sent photographs of intimate acts to the prospective husband, due to which her marriage was broken.
• The police arrested the applicant, and a charge sheet was submitted after the completion of the investigation.

Opinion of the Bench

• The Court held that her original statement only made out offences under Sections 507, 509, and 504. However, from her supplementary statement, the police applied additional Sections 376(2)(n), 377 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
• The Court observed that the investigation of the present crime is complete, and the police have submitted the charge sheet.
• The bench held that keeping the applicant incarcerated will serve no purpose.

Final Decision

• Application allowed.
• Bail granted.

This case summary has been prepared by Mehula Liza Pallathu, an undergraduate student at the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi, during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2021.