The Allahabad High Court has stayed the arrest of ACP Mohsin Khan posted in Kanpur in the case of the sexual exploitation of a Ph.D. student.
The Division Bench of Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan and Justice Mohd Azhar Husain Idrisi passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Mohammad Mohsin Khan.
The petition has been filed with a prayer to quash the First Information Report dated 12.12.2024 registered as Case under Section 69 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 at Police Station Kalyanpur, District Kanpur Nagar.
It is argued on behalf of the petitioner that opposite party No 3 informant has stated in the FIR that both the petitioner and the informant are doing Ph.D. from IIT, Kanpur.
It is further stated in the FIR that in June, 2024, the petitioner approached the informant to become her guide and in that process both came closer to each other.
A specific reference is drawn to the FIR where it is stated that when petitioner made an offer of marriage, it was stated that he is in process of taking divorce from his wife but he promised that he is unmarried.
It is further stated that the informant has recently undergone a breakup and she was feeling alone and therefore, she developed an intimate relationship with the petitioner and both of them started having physical relations.
Counsel for the petitioner further submitted that from the bare perusal of the FIR, it is stated that on a promise to marry, the consent of the informant was taken who is admittedly above 18 years of age.
Reliance is placed on judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Mahesh Damu Khare Vs the State of Maharashtra & Anr, wherein, the Supreme Court has observed that if a man is accused of having sexual relationship by making a false promise of marriage, the criminal prosecution is not maintainable.
The Court issued notice to respondent No 3.
In the meantime, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner and filing of the charge-sheet shall remain stayed, the Court ordered.
The Court has fixed the next hearing of the petition on 20.03.2025.
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