High Court · 2025

1. Heard Sri Rajesh Sharma, learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Diwaker Singh, learned A.G.A. for the State, Shri Santosh Tripathi, the learned counsel for the informant, who has filed Vakalatnama on behalf of the informant and perused the records.

2. The instant application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in Case Crime No.794 of 2024 under Sections 70(1), 115(2), 140(1), 191(2) B.N.S. registered at Police Station- P.G.I., District- Lucknow.

3. The aforesaid case has been registered on the basis of an F.I.R. lodged on 30.11.2024 against eight named persons, including the applicant, and some unnamed persons, stating that the informant had gone to a hotel to see her friends Mahi at about 08:30 PM on 23.11.2024. Upon coming out of the hotel at about 09:50 PM, while her two friends had sat in the Cab and she was waiting for the Cab, two Dezire cars came there and she was forcibly put in one of the two Cars. A Scorpio vehicle followed the two Cars. More than ten men – including seven named men and other unknown men, and a girl were sitting in the three vehicles. They took her on Sultanpur road for about 100 to 150 Km and all the accused persons raped her and beaten her. They dropped her back at Telibagh at about 03:00 AM and they put her in an auto-rickshaw while she was in an unconscious condition. She went to P.G.I. Police Station from where she was taken to Trauma Centre.

4. In the statement of the victim recorded under Section 180 B.N.S.S., she reiterated the F.I.R. version.

5. The medico-legal examination report mentions that the informant's husband had taken her to Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute Of Medical Sciences, where the informant told the Doctor that she is aged about 28 years, seven named male persons and a woman were her assailants and all the assailants had kidnapped and gang-raped her. However, she stated that her genital areas had been forcibly washed off and her mouth had also been forcibly washed off. No obvious injury was found on the genitals of the informant. The informant did not give consent for detection of internal injuries. Although vaginal swab and other samples were collected for pathological examination but there is no mention of any findings in the pathological report which might support the allegation of commission of gang-rape. However, the informant had preorbital redness and bruise on right eye, scratch marks on neck and chest, abrasion / scratch mark on right forearm, and a bruise on left leg.

6. In the statement of the victim recorded under Section 183 B.N.S.S., she alleged that on the date of the incident, first she had gone to the house of her friend Pooja. Then she went with Pooja to the Hotel, where she met Mahi and her friends. They talked for an hour. Then Mahi received a Phone call from Vivek but she said that she would talk after becoming free. She asked to go to 1090 and they booked an Ola cab. As soon as they got out of the Hotel room, Aman stopped her and said that it was someone's birthday and he had not been called. The informant stopped to listen to him and thereafter she proceeded towards Ola. While she was about 20 steps away, a Dezire car came, in which Kishan Yadav was sitting and he asked her to sit in the car. Seema, Dharmendra (the applicant), Vivek and Akhilesh were sitting in it. Vivek got out of the car, abused and slapped her. Kishan caught hold of her hair and pulled her inside the car. The applicant kept on pushing her head down for three hours. The applicant and Akhilesh had burnt her with cigarette. They had beaten her with iron rod and with elbow. Seema hit her sandal on her head. All of them had beaten her collectively. Kishan called Sunil Yadav and said that they had picked up the informant and he should also join to have fun. Sunil came to Sultanpur Toll with his vehicle. All of them crossed the toll after Sunil had arrived. Akhilesh, Vivek, the applicant, Sunil and Ranjeet had put their private parts in her mouth at a secluded place. Sunny came there and he beaten her and forcibly made physical relation with her and he also put his private part inside her. Thereafter all of them raped her. All of them had condoms and they used it while having sex. The only female person Seema present there was exhorting them to rape her and was hurling dirty abuses. Only Kishan did not have sex with her. Kishan's wife made a phone call and said that Police had reached their home. There were three vehicles. She told the registration number of one of the Vehicles and said it was a Dezire car. They made her sit straight. Seema asked others to kill the informant and to throw her away. They stopped at a Petrol Pump and made her rinse her mouth with Colgate and Seema went in another Car. At another Petrol Pump Seema got her down the car and washed her private parts and made her wear half-pants. Her upper clothes were torn. Her phone was reset. They crossed two tolls and then stopped at a tea stall. She was again threatened of being kidnapped. They dropped her in front of a hospital at about 03.19 PM and made her sit in a battery rickshaw. From there she went straight to the Police Station. Her report was lodged with some delay. He husband got her examined medically.

7. In the affidavit filed in support of the bail application, it has been stated that the applicant is innocent, he has been falsely implicated in the present case and he has no criminal history.

8. It has further been stated in the affidavit that the informant had earlier also lodged an F.I.R. No.262 of 2023 against five named persons, including the co-accused Sunil Yadav alleging that she had gone to the house of her friend-accused Safalta Pathak, where some illicit dirty activities were being carried out. The informant tried to videograph the incident whereupon the accused persons forced her to join the dirty deeds being committed there.

9. Another F.I.R. No.265 of 2023 was lodged in Police Station- Ashiyana, District- Lucknow on 27.06.2023 by the police against five persons, including Safalta Pathak, alleging that the accused persons were involved in illegal flesh trade. The informant claims that the said F.I.R. was lodged at her behest.

10. An F.I.R. No.397 of 2024 for offences under Sections 308(2) and 352 B.N.S. was lodged in Police Station-Gomti Nagar, District- Lucknow against the informant of the present case and two other persons alleging that the informant of the case had booked Escort Services to be rendered by two particular girls but when the girls reached there, they were different from the girls whose photographs were shown at the time of booking. The present informant was one of the girls who had reached there and when the informant of that case declined to avail her services, she threatened and blackmailed him.

11. Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that co- accused Seema Yadav has been granted bail by means of an order dated 24.02.2025 passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Crl. Misc. Bail Application No.1689 of 2025. Another co-accused Ranjeet Yadav has also been granted bail by means of an order dated 04.04.2025 passed by this Court in Crl. Misc. Bail Application No.2846 of 2025 after hearing submissions advanced on behalf of learned A.G.A. as well as Shri Santosh Kumar Tripathi, the learned counsel for the informant.

12. Learned A.G.A. as well as the learned counsel for the informant have opposed the bail application and they have submitted that the allegations have been established during investigation and a charge-sheet has been submitted on 01.03.2025.

13. Having considered the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the fact that the allegation is of commission of rape by eight persons but no injury was visible on her private parts and she declined internal examination for ascertainment of any injury and the allegation is not supported by pathological examination report; there is a long chain of incidents leading to lodging of F.I.R.s at the behest of the informant as also against her containing allegations of commission of misdeeds, including sexual offences and that the investigation already stands concluded and that the co-accused persons have already been granted bail and allegations against the applicant are similar to the allegations levelled against the co-accused persons who have been granted bail, I am of the view that the aforesaid facts are sufficient for making out a case for enlargement of the applicant on bail in the aforesaid crime.

14. Accordingly, this bail application stands allowed.

15. Let the applicant- Dharmendra Yadav be released on bail in the aforementioned case on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of magistrate/court concerned, subject to following conditions:- (i) the applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence; (ii) the applicant shall not pressurize the prosecution witnesses; (iii) the applicant shall appear on each and every date fixed by the trial court. Order Date :- 21.5.2025 Preeti. (Subhash Vidyarthi,J.) PREETI GAUTAM High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench

1. Heard Sri Rajesh Sharma, learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Diwaker Singh, learned A.G.A. for the State, Shri Santosh Tripathi, the learned counsel for the informant, who has filed Vakalatnama on behalf of the informant and perused the records.

2. The instant application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in Case Crime No.794 of 2024 under Sections 70(1), 115(2), 140(1), 191(2) B.N.S. registered at Police Station- P.G.I., District- Lucknow.

3. The aforesaid case has been registered on the basis of an F.I.R. lodged on 30.11.2024 against eight named persons, including the applicant, and some unnamed persons, stating that the informant had gone to a hotel to see her friends Mahi at about 08:30 PM on 23.11.2024. Upon coming out of the hotel at about 09:50 PM, while her two friends had sat in the Cab and she was waiting for the Cab, two Dezire cars came there and she was forcibly put in one of the two Cars. A Scorpio vehicle followed the two Cars. More than ten men – including seven named men and other unknown men, and a girl were sitting in the three vehicles. They took her on Sultanpur road for about 100 to 150 Km and all the accused persons raped her and beaten her. They dropped her back at Telibagh at about 03:00 AM and they put her in an auto-rickshaw while she was in an unconscious condition. She went to P.G.I. Police Station from where she was taken to Trauma Centre.

4. In the statement of the victim recorded under Section 180 B.N.S.S., she reiterated the F.I.R. version.

5. The medico-legal examination report mentions that the informant's husband had taken her to Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute Of Medical Sciences, where the informant told the Doctor that she is aged about 28 years, seven named male persons and a woman were her assailants and all the assailants had kidnapped and gang-raped her. However, she stated that her genital areas had been forcibly washed off and her mouth had also been forcibly washed off. No obvious injury was found on the genitals of the informant. The informant did not give consent for detection of internal injuries. Although vaginal swab and other samples were collected for pathological examination but there is no mention of any findings in the pathological report which might support the allegation of commission of gang-rape. However, the informant had preorbital redness and bruise on right eye, scratch marks on neck and chest, abrasion / scratch mark on right forearm, and a bruise on left leg.

6. In the statement of the victim recorded under Section 183 B.N.S.S., she alleged that on the date of the incident, first she had gone to the house of her friend Pooja. Then she went with Pooja to the Hotel, where she met Mahi and her friends. They talked for an hour. Then Mahi received a Phone call from Vivek but she said that she would talk after becoming free. She asked to go to 1090 and they booked an Ola cab. As soon as they got out of the Hotel room, Aman stopped her and said that it was someone's birthday and he had not been called. The informant stopped to listen to him and thereafter she proceeded towards Ola. While she was about 20 steps away, a Dezire car came, in which Kishan Yadav was sitting and he asked her to sit in the car. Seema, Dharmendra (the applicant), Vivek and Akhilesh were sitting in it. Vivek got out of the car, abused and slapped her. Kishan caught hold of her hair and pulled her inside the car. The applicant kept on pushing her head down for three hours. The applicant and Akhilesh had burnt her with cigarette. They had beaten her with iron rod and with elbow. Seema hit her sandal on her head. All of them had beaten her collectively. Kishan called Sunil Yadav and said that they had picked up the informant and he should also join to have fun. Sunil came to Sultanpur Toll with his vehicle. All of them crossed the toll after Sunil had arrived. Akhilesh, Vivek, the applicant, Sunil and Ranjeet had put their private parts in her mouth at a secluded place. Sunny came there and he beaten her and forcibly made physical relation with her and he also put his private part inside her. Thereafter all of them raped her. All of them had condoms and they used it while having sex. The only female person Seema present there was exhorting them to rape her and was hurling dirty abuses. Only Kishan did not have sex with her. Kishan's wife made a phone call and said that Police had reached their home. There were three vehicles. She told the registration number of one of the Vehicles and said it was a Dezire car. They made her sit straight. Seema asked others to kill the informant and to throw her away. They stopped at a Petrol Pump and made her rinse her mouth with Colgate and Seema went in another Car. At another Petrol Pump Seema got her down the car and washed her private parts and made her wear half-pants. Her upper clothes were torn. Her phone was reset. They crossed two tolls and then stopped at a tea stall. She was again threatened of being kidnapped. They dropped her in front of a hospital at about 03.19 PM and made her sit in a battery rickshaw. From there she went straight to the Police Station. Her report was lodged with some delay. He husband got her examined medically.

7. In the affidavit filed in support of the bail application, it has been stated that the applicant is innocent, he has been falsely implicated in the present case and he has no criminal history.

8. It has further been stated in the affidavit that the informant had earlier also lodged an F.I.R. No.262 of 2023 against five named persons, including the co-accused Sunil Yadav alleging that she had gone to the house of her friend-accused Safalta Pathak, where some illicit dirty activities were being carried out. The informant tried to videograph the incident whereupon the accused persons forced her to join the dirty deeds being committed there.

9. Another F.I.R. No.265 of 2023 was lodged in Police Station- Ashiyana, District- Lucknow on 27.06.2023 by the police against five persons, including Safalta Pathak, alleging that the accused persons were involved in illegal flesh trade. The informant claims that the said F.I.R. was lodged at her behest.

10. An F.I.R. No.397 of 2024 for offences under Sections 308(2) and 352 B.N.S. was lodged in Police Station-Gomti Nagar, District- Lucknow against the informant of the present case and two other persons alleging that the informant of the case had booked Escort Services to be rendered by two particular girls but when the girls reached there, they were different from the girls whose photographs were shown at the time of booking. The present informant was one of the girls who had reached there and when the informant of that case declined to avail her services, she threatened and blackmailed him.

11. Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that co- accused Seema Yadav has been granted bail by means of an order dated 24.02.2025 passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Crl. Misc. Bail Application No.1689 of 2025. Another co-accused Ranjeet Yadav has also been granted bail by means of an order dated 04.04.2025 passed by this Court in Crl. Misc. Bail Application No.2846 of 2025 after hearing submissions advanced on behalf of learned A.G.A. as well as Shri Santosh Kumar Tripathi, the learned counsel for the informant.

12. Learned A.G.A. as well as the learned counsel for the informant have opposed the bail application and they have submitted that the allegations have been established during investigation and a charge-sheet has been submitted on 01.03.2025.

13. Having considered the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the fact that the allegation is of commission of rape by eight persons but no injury was visible on her private parts and she declined internal examination for ascertainment of any injury and the allegation is not supported by pathological examination report; there is a long chain of incidents leading to lodging of F.I.R.s at the behest of the informant as also against her containing allegations of commission of misdeeds, including sexual offences and that the investigation already stands concluded and that the co-accused persons have already been granted bail and allegations against the applicant are similar to the allegations levelled against the co-accused persons who have been granted bail, I am of the view that the aforesaid facts are sufficient for making out a case for enlargement of the applicant on bail in the aforesaid crime.

14. Accordingly, this bail application stands allowed.

15. Let the applicant- Dharmendra Yadav be released on bail in the aforementioned case on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of magistrate/court concerned, subject to following conditions:- (i) the applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence; (ii) the applicant shall not pressurize the prosecution witnesses; (iii) the applicant shall appear on each and every date fixed by the trial court. Order Date :- 21.5.2025 Preeti. (Subhash Vidyarthi,J.) PREETI GAUTAM High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench