The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has discharged Congress MP Rakesh Rathore in an alleged rape case registered in Sitapur district, observing that the prosecution material indicated a long-standing consensual relationship between him and the complainant.
She accepted the offer and was later appointed district women’s president of the Tailik Mahasangh, following which their proximity increased.
The court said the allegation that Rathore had established a physical relationship with the complainant on the promise of marriage did not, prima facie, raise a strong suspicion that the alleged offence had been committed. The complainant said she met Rathore at public meetings, after which he offered her political patronage and an alliance, according to the order. The court also referred to the statement of the complainant’s husband who said Rathore frequently called her to his residence and that she sometimes stayed there until late at night. “On the basis of the aforesaid circumstances, the prosecution material indicates a long-standing consensual extramarital relationship between two married and mature adults,” the court observed. The court said it was contrary to the allegation that the relationship had been established on a promise of marriage.
Justice Subhash Vidyarthi, in an order passed on Friday, allowed Rathore’s discharge application.
