Mumbai: Court denies bail to man who raped 80-year-old paralytic woman, says irrelevant that case was ‘settled’

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Observing that the settlement of a rape case is ‘irrelevant’, a sessions court in Mumbai rejected bail to a 26-year-old man arrested for raping an 80-year-old paralysed woman. The accused’s lawyer informed the court in a hearing last week that the victim had since passed away. The lawyer said that the victim’s daughter-in-law, who is the informant in the case, had ‘settled’ the matter outside the court and hence he should be considered for bail.

The prosecution said that earlier bail applications of the accused were rejected and there was no change in circumstances. The prosecutor said that the offence under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code is non-compoundable and hence it is irrelevant that the case has been settled between the informant and the accused.

“…when the offence is non-compoundable, the Court cannot consider whether the parties have settled the matter outside the Court or otherwise. In short, it appears that there is absolutely no change in the circumstances and that alleged settlement of the case outside the Court is irrelevant, while considering the bail application in an offence like 376 of the IPC,” the court said.