The Supreme Court Thursday granted a doctor, who accused of raping a woman on the alleged promise of marriage, interim protection from arrest.
A vacation bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Rajesh Bindal issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and the alleged victim on an appeal filed by the doctor against the Allahabad High Court order denying him anticipatory bail.
The top court directed the doctor to join the investigation.
"There shall be an interim protection of the petitioner from arrest in connection with FIR lodged with Police Station Pakwara District Moradabad until the next date of hearing.
"The petitioner, however, shall not enter the district of Moradabad during this period and shall not indulge in any communication either directly or indirectly with the complainant," the bench said.
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The doctor is pursuing an MD course at Tirthankar Medical University, while the alleged victim is a nursing teacher there.
The victim has claimed the two came into contact and became friends. The doctor later promised to marry her and the two established physical relationship, she has alleged.
The doctor claimed in the high court he was willing to marry the woman but she turned down his proposal.
-With PTI Input
