Delhi High Court grants interim protection to TV anchor accused of rape subject to his joining the investigation

The Delhi High Court today granted interim protection from arrest to TV anchor Varun Hiremath in connection with a rape case registered against him, subject to him joining the investigation. (Varun Hiremath vs State)..Even as counsel for the prosecutrix objected to the interim protection on the ground that Hiremath had been missing for the past 50 days, the Single Judge Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta said, "He has made out some case, it has to be verified. If it was a consensual relationship, it has to be verified...I have given a short date.".The Court added that the order can be modified once a report is received from the police after verification. It thus sought responses from the State and the prosecutrix. .The matter will be heard next on April 16. .The Additional Sessions Judge at the Fast Track Courts in Patiala House Court had rejected Hiremath's anticipatory bail last month..The anchor claimed that he had been falsely implicated in the case, as the act was consensual in nature. .Before the trial court, Hiremath claimed that the prosecutrix came from Pune to Delhi to meet him and voluntarily checked into a hotel room with him. The 22-year-old prosecutrix had argued that merely going into a hotel room did not show her intention to indulge in sexual activities..Rejecting the anticipatory bail plea, the trial court had held that the previous relationship of the parties was of no relevance in view of Sections 53A and 114A of the Indian Evidence Act..Varun Hiremath was represented by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, briefed by a team of Karanjawala & Co. comprising Sandeep Kapur, Rajat Soni, Niharika Karanjawala, Apoorva Pandey, G G Kashyap and K Sharat.