The woman had accused the married man and father of one of pretending to be single, promising to marry her, engaging in sexual relations with her between 1986 and 1990, clicking her nude photographs and forcing her to cough up a total of Rs 68,000 from time to time to repay his debts.
The woman filed a cheating complaint against the man who was already married. He even got an injunction order against the woman from the Bombay high court which directed her not to squat near his building, not to shout and abuse him or his family, and not to write any slogans against him. While acquitting the accused, the magistrate court held that there was no evidence against him.
The woman deposed in court along with an employee of a bank whose cheque she had issued the man in 1987.
Pointing to her evidence, the court said, “It comes to my knowledge that since 1971-72 the complainant and the accused knew each other and a friendship developed between them. The friendship converted into a love affair. However, there was no happy end to that love affair as instead of marrying the complainant, the accused married another girl.”
The court said since the duo lived in the same locality and belonged to a community with a small population, “it is not acceptable” that the accused could have married another woman, concealed it for a long time and continued to be in a relationship with her.
In his deposition, the bank manager said that according to its rules, records were maintained for only seven years; records of the cheque were not available, he said.
In her deposition, the woman said in February, 1990, she learned from reliable sources that the accused was married and had a child. She deposed that when she questioned the accused about his promise to marry her, he assured her that he would divorce his wife. The woman further said that he told her he had married against his will and promised her marriage after his father’s death. She said that when his father died in September, 1992, the accused began to avoid her. The woman said on one occasion, when she met the accused in the colony and asked him to return her pictures, he avoided her and, on another, when she asked him about his plans to marry her, he abused her.
She deposed that on March 5, 1993, she went to his residence and reported the entire episode to his wife, who then confronted the accused at his workplace.
The woman said the accused denied her allegations and later even threatened to distribute her nude photos and not return her money.
It was then that she filed a complaint against him.
The court, though, held that there was no cogent and reliable evidence against the accused.
