Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:76108 Court No. - 80 Case :- CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 2683 of 2025 Appellant :- Ashok Baghel Alias Ashok Pal Respondent :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Appellant :- Lavkush Kumar Shukla Counsel for Respondent :- G.A. Hon'ble Nalin Kumar Srivastava,J. 1. Despite service of notice, none is present for the informant / opposite party no.2 when the case was called out. 2. This criminal appeal under Section 14-A (2) Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been preferred by the appellant - Ashok Baghel alias Ashok Pal with the prayer to allow the appeal, set aside the bail rejection order dated 19.2.2025 passed by the Special Judge (SC/ST Act), Agra and release the appellant on bail in Case Crime No.11 of 2025 under Sections 64(2)(m), 69, 89, 123, 351(3) B.N.S. and Section 3(2)5 S.C./S.T. Act, Police Station Jagdishpura, District Agra. 3. Heard learned counsel for the appellant, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the entire record. 4. The prosecution story, as unfolded in the F.I.R., is that in the month of August, 2024, the victim of this case received a mobile call but since the victim was not interested, she refused to talk and disconnected the call but the unknown person continued to ring her by different mobile numbers and he introduced himself as Ashok Baghel, the named accused in this case and he also disclosed that he had seen the victim in a party and one sided love developed on his part and he wanted to marry with her. Subsequently, he continued talking with the victim on phone and on his call, the victim reached his Cafe - Black Heart, Sector 12, Bhawna Tower, P.S. Jagdishpura, Agra where he offered some cold drink to her and on taking this she became unconscious and the accused committed rape with her and also prepared some obscene videos and photographs in his mobile phone. The prosecutrix visited his Cafe many times and on the false pretext of marriage, the accused appellant developed physical relations with her forcefully. Subsequently, on two occasions, she also got pregnancy, which was terminated by the accused appellant. She continued insisting the accused for marriage but he was not ready and one day he refused to marry with her and also threatened to make her obscene video and photographs viral and compelled the prosecutrix to visit to his Cafe and continued physical relations with her. The prosecutrix / informant is a member of SC/ST community. Ultimately F.I.R. was lodged on 9.1.2025 and after investigation, charge-sheet was submitted by the I.O. of this case under Sections 64(2)(m), 69, 89, 123, 351(3) B.N.S. and Section 3(2)5 S.C./S.T. Act. 5. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the appellant that the appellant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in this case due to animosity. He has not committed the present offence. Alleged offences are not attracted against him. The prosecution story is totally false and fabricated. It is also submitted that the essential ingredients to constitute the offence under the SC/ST Act are not established in this case. It is also submitted that the appellant was willing to marry with the prosecutrix but subsequently he came to know that she was not a girl of good character. She visits the cafe and bar frequently and performs dance over there and also uses to smoke and drink. It is also submitted that she grabbed Rs.50,000/- from the appellant and when it was demanded by the appellant, he has been falsely implicated in the instant case. It is also submitted that in this matter, an application under section 173 (4) BNSS was also moved by the appellant against the prosecutrix and her family members before the competent court at Agra. It is also submitted that physical relations between the two were made and developed with the free will and consent of the major lady herself and she was never compelled by the appellant to make physical relations with him. The WhatsApp chat between the two explicitly shows that she was not a decent lady. It is also submitted that the appellant has no criminal history to his credit and he is languishing in jail since 7.2.2025. It is further submitted that the bail application of the appellant has been rejected in an illegal manner by the Special Judge (S.C./S.T. Act), Agra. It is further submitted that the Court concerned while passing the impugned order did not take into account the facts and evidence available on record in right perspective and erred in passing the same. It is lastly submitted that the impugned order rejecting the bail application of the appellant suffers from infirmity and illegality warranting interference by this Court. 6. Per contra, learned A.G.A. vehemently opposing the present appeal submitted that the victim of this case is a member of SC/ST community and this fact was well known to the accused appellant. He administered cold drink with some intoxicant to the victim and when she was unconscious, he committed rape with her and also procured some obscene videos and photographs and made false pretext of marriage and on the basis of the said objectionable video and photographs, he committed rape with her several times and also hurled abuses with caste related remarks and threatened her for life as well. It is also submitted that oral and documentary evidence collected by the I.O. of this case proves that the prosecution story is true and correct facts have been narrated by the witnesses before the I.O. In the statements of the victim made before the I.O. under sections 180 and 183 BNSS as well, she has narrated the same story as mentioned in the F.I.R. The medical evidence also corroborates the prosecution version. There is no possibility of false implication of the accused appellant. It is also submitted that the Investigating Officer has collected sufficient and relevant evidence against the appellant during investigation and CDR in connection with the conversation made between the two has also been made part of the case diary and FSL report is also awaited. It is also submitted that there is no infirmity or illegality in the impugned order rejecting the bail application of the accused appellant. The active participation of the accused appellant in the commission of the crime is explicitly proved on the basis of the evidence collected during investigation. The appellant is not entitled for any relaxation and his bail application is liable to be rejected and the appeal is liable to be dismissed. 7. I have considered the rival submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the entire record and the impugned order carefully. 8. Although it is a matter of sexual relations between the two major persons of opposite sex, but it is to be seen at this stage whether the victim was a consenting party to make and develop physical relations with the accused appellant. On the one hand, after his threatening to make viral the obscene video and photographs relating to the victim, which were also shown to her and secondly, on the false pretext of marriage on the part of the accused appellant, the defence which was taken at this stage that when the appellant came to know that the victim is not a girl of good character and she visits the cafe and bar and performs dance there and also a chain smoker, does not seem to be correct at this stage. Although in that respect some photographs have been annexed with the affidavit but the primary question is whether the physical relations were developed between the two on account of false pretext of marriage made by the appellant himself. Due to said relations, the victim developed pregnancy, which was terminated twice and the medical documents support this fact. 9. The prosecution stands with the case that on mobile call, the appellant expressed his desire to marry with the victim, which means that since the very inception of the alleged crime, the appellant proceeded with a dishonest intention and the victim had been under a genuine impression that the appellant was going to marry with her and that is why even after termination of her pregnancy twice, the victim used to make request to the appellant to marry with her, which was ultimately refused by the appellant. 10. At this stage, this Court finds force in the submission of the learned State counsel that since the duo had been in relations for a considerable long time, the appellant should be knowing the bad character and habits of the prosecutrix from the very beginning of the relations. 11. It appears not to be a simple case of physical relations of two major persons of opposite sex, but it falls into the category of cases where the intention of the accused appellant had been dishonest since the very beginning of the relations and in fact he never wanted to marry with the prosecutrix and was only fulfilling his lust. 12. Now a days the Courts are over-flooded with the matters wherein it is alleged that the male accused, on the false promise of marriage, only to fulfill his lust, made physical relations with the lady victim and subsequently did not keep his promise and left her abandoned. In such matters, what the Court should actually look into is the intention of the accused from very inception of the relation. 13. Hon'ble Apex Court in Pramod Suryabhan Pawar Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Anr., 2019 (9) SCC 608 has categorically held that there is a distinction between a false promise given on understanding by maker that it will be broken and breach of a promise which is made in good faith but subsequently not fulfilled. Thus, in case of woman engaging in sexual relations on false promise to marriage, her "consent" is based on "misconception of fact", and such sexual act(s) will amount to rape. 14. Similar view has been reiterated by the Hon'ble Apex Curt In Anurag Soni v State of Chhattisgarh, (2019) 13 SCC 1, wherein it was held that if it is established and proved that from the inception the accused who gave the promise to the prosecutrix to marry, did not have any intention to marry and the prosecutrix gave the consent for sexual intercourse on such an assurance by the accused that he would marry her, such a consent can be said to be a consent obtained on a misconception of fact as per Section 90 of the IPC and, in such a case, such a consent would not excuse the offender and such an offender can be said to have committed the rape as defined under Section 375 of the IPC and can be convicted for the offence under Section 376 of the IPC." 15. Keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case and the law applicable to it and and also that during investigation sufficient materials have been collected against the accused appellant and charge-sheet has been submitted in this matter and also the fact that the accused appellant was well known to the caste of the victim and her bad habits as well and inspite of that he forcibly made physical relations with her and developed the same with the false promise of marriage, in my view it is not a fit case for bail. The order of rejection of bail passed by the court concerned dated 19.2.2025 is affirmed. No ground is made out to release the accused appellant on bail. 16. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed. Order Date :- 9.5.2025 ss Digitally signed by :- SANDEEP SHARMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad