Maharashtra court denies pre-arrest bail to a man accused of hiding his homosexuality from wife
A court in Maharashtra has rejected the pre-arrest bail application of a 32-year-old Navi Mumbai-based man, who allegedly cheated his wife by "hiding that he is a homosexual", and also indulged in forgery as well as forced one of his gay partners to accompany them to their honeymoon.
Additional sessions Judge RS Gupta rejected the bail application on Tuesday and a copy of the order was made available on Friday.
The accused and complainant, 30, had got married in November 2021 after meeting through a social media platform.
In her police complaint, the woman said she later came to know that he is a gay as she found his personal WhatsApp messages and some videos on his mobile, which revealed that he was in a sexual relationship with two men from Mumbai.
When she confronted him over the issue, the accused flashed a knife at her, she said in the complaint.
Before their marriage, in order to impress her, the accused showed a bogus job offer letter to her as per which he was to get Rs 14 lakh salary per annum, the complainant's lawyer Sagar Kadam told the court.
Prosecutor VA Kulkarni along with Mr Kadam submitted that before the marriage, the accused suppressed the facts that he is a gay and thereby cheated the complainant and ruined her life.
Investigation officer submitted that they have found the chats of the accused with other male partners which clearly indicates the he is interested in a same sex relationship.
The defence counsel contested the prosecution's version, saying that it was aimed at defaming and harassing him, and sought relief.
The judge rejected the anticipatory bail (pre-arrest bail) application of the accused saying, "Prima facie it is shown accused with intent to play fraud, committed cheating by causing wrongful financial loss to the parent of complainant and as well as irreparable damage to the life of complainant."
After the registration of an FIR against him on March 2, the accused and the complainant decided to resolve the matter amicably by dissolution of their marriage with the accused agreeing to repay the expenses incurred by the complainant for their marriage.
The accused sought time till March 30, but four days prior to the deadline, he secretly applied for anticipatory bail in Thane sessions court. But it was rejected on April 5 and he absconded to evade arrest by the Rabale police, Mr Kadam said.
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