Nashik man accused of harassing cousin’s daughter-in-law gets pre-arrest bail

The Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a 45-year-old man from Nashik who was accused of making sexual advances towards his cousin’s daughter-in-law.
The bench led by Justice Manish Pitale granted bail to the accused with the condition that he must not contact the complainant or attempt to reach her on social media.
The man, represented by advocate Vivek Arote, sought anticipatory bail after a case was registered against him in August in Nashik. The charges included offences under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act, relating to the publishing or transmitting of sexually explicit material, and multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), including criminal intimidation, sexual harassment, and stalking.
In her complaint, the woman alleged that the accused had been stalking her, sending messages asking for sexual favours, and continuing his advances through phone calls and social media despite her resistance.
Senior advocate Sudeep Pasbola, representing the accused, argued that only one of the charges, under Section 75 of the BNS, was non-bailable.
He claimed that the interactions between the man and the complainant had been reciprocal, and the accused had committed to cooperating with the probe and would not be trying to further contact the informant.
Rutuja Ambekar, Additional Public Prosecutor representing Nashik Police, opposed the bail plea. She pointed to the WhatsApp messages sent by the accused, which she said clearly showed his inappropriate advances.
Ambekar emphasised that the complainant had repeatedly resisted these advances and that the relationship between the accused and the informant, as family members, made the nature of the offences more serious.
Despite this, the court granted interim relief to the accused based on his undertaking not to contact the complainant in any manner.