Mumbai Sessions Court grants interim protection from arrest to three Bombay High Court lawyers accused of sexual assault

A Mumbai court on Wednesday granted interim protection from arrest to the three lawyers practising before the Bombay High Court in a case relating to alleged sexual harassment of a female subordinate. .The offences alleged in the FIR are Sections 376 (punishment for rape), 354 (outraging modesty of women) 354(A)(i)(ii) (sexual harassment) 380 (theft), 385 (fear of injury for extortion), 500 (defamation), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation) 509 (insult to modesty of woman), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 406 (criminal breach of trust)..Among the 7 persons arraigned in the FIR are three lawyers - two male lawyers and one female. The male lawyers are accused of committing sexual offences while the female lawyer from the prime accused's law firm is accused of abusing the complainant. The lawyers moved the Sessions Court seeking anticipatory bail in relation to the FIR. .Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar appearing for the accused submitted that the reputation of the accused lawyers was at stake due to the false FIR. He pointed out a list of FIRs which were filed by the victim against other people and a list of orders passed against the victim by other courts. .Punalekar argued that the victim had filed more than 5-6 complaints alleging Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code which had been registered into FIRs. Amongst them, Punalekar pointed out that there was an FIR of 2014 which was quashed after the victim purportedly withdrew the allegations.He added that the FIR in the present case was also filed in a similar manner and the "modus operandi of the victim was to file FIR and get benefit".Having said so, Punalekar assured on behalf of his clients, that they are ready to attend the police station and handover their mobile phones. .The victim had alleged that the alleged acts had been committed between June 5 to 10, 2021 and between June 17 to July 15, 2021. However, the WhatsApp conversations between the victim and the prime accused, the Court noted, indicated that the victim was apologising after the prime accused had told her to leave his office.Punalekar submitted that by an order of July 23, 2021, an order was passed by the Mumbai City Civil Court restraining the victim from entering the office premises of prime accused..Additional Sessions Judge SP Agarwal observed that the victim had apologised to the prime accused days after the alleged incident."victim is lawyer and already having knowledge of law and she filed FIR for rape against others; still after alleged incident of rape between June 5 and 10, 2021 on her by accused she has written messages saying sorry to him," the Court said. .Considering the messages submitted to the Court, and the assurance of the accused to attend the police station, the Court deemed this case to be "a fit case to grant interim protection to all accused till next date". Accordingly the police was directed not to arrest the three lawyers till August 2, 2021 and all accused were directed to attend the police station between 6-8 pm every alternate day. .Punalekar appeared along with Advocates Prashant Maggu, Sanjana Pardeshi, Heema Shah, Siddharth Jha, Hare Krishna Mishra, Prachish Shukla, Rekha Choudhary and Sachin Kanse for the accused.Additional Public Prosecutor Meera Choudhary appeared for the State.