MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Wednesday granted per-arrest bail to Airoli MLA Ganesh Naik for Rs 25,000 each in two FIRs filed by a woman accusing him of threat under Arms Act and rape.
On April 30, the Thane sessions court had rejected Naik’s pleas.
The HC while granting him relief after hearing senior counsel Niteen Pradhan and Shirish Gupte in the two separate applications he had filed said that the woman and Naik were in a relationship since 1995 and "so prima facie it cannot be termed as rape."
The woman had alleged that she and Naik had a son who is now in his teens and that Naik had broken off with her four years ago and also allegedly threatened her with a revolver.
The prosecutor opposed grant of any relief to him as did counsel for the woman.
The woman who intervened to oppose his per-arrest bail application said in her written submissions made through advocate Lucy Massey that the intervener submit that “after three decades she raised the courage to bring out her dilemma in the open to seek justice but the power and high handedness of the Applicant (Naik) is too high and the Intervener is no match to the said power.”
She also said, she was “lured” by Naik when she was young and “half his age at that point of time” and “could not assess the situation as maturely as he could.”
“Hence, it can be safely said that the accused has taken undue advantage of her adolescence, immaturity and influenced her to act as per his whims and fancies... It is now clearly evident to any prudent person that the Accused being a highly powerful, influential and resourceful man has raped, cheated, manipulated and trampled upon her immense trust and faith in him.”
