Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has granted anticipatory bail to the mother of the prime accused in a case involving allegations of rape, harassment and forced religious conversion. The order was passed by a vacation single-judge bench headed by Justice R Nataraj while hearing a petition filed by the accused’s mother seeking protection from arrest.
The court observed that the petitioner was merely the mother of the first accused and that no direct role of hers in the alleged offences had been established at this stage of the investigation. The bench further noted that the offences alleged against her do not attract punishment of death or life imprisonment.
Justice Nataraj remarked that the petitioner’s involvement in the alleged rape offence booked under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) appeared remote. Therefore, the seriousness of the allegations alone could not be a ground to deny anticipatory bail, the court held.
While granting relief, the High Court directed investigating officers to release the petitioner on bail in the event of her arrest upon execution of a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh along with one surety for the like amount.
The court also imposed several conditions, including that the petitioner must appear before the investigating officer every Saturday at 11 am until the filing of the charge sheet. She has also been directed not to involve herself in similar offences and not to tamper with prosecution witnesses or evidence.
According to the complaint, the woman alleged that in February 2025, the prime accused allegedly intoxicated her, sexually assaulted her and captured objectionable photographs and videos without her consent. She claimed that the accused later used those images to blackmail her and repeatedly subjected her to sexual abuse.
The complainant further alleged that she became pregnant due to the assaults and suffered physical violence during the pregnancy, resulting in the death of her newborn child.
She also accused the man of forcing her to convert from Hinduism to Islam as a precondition for marriage. The complainant stated that she converted to Islam and changed her name before marrying the accused on June 22, 2025.
According to the complaint, after the marriage, the accused allegedly took her to various places and later abandoned her in Kolkata, West Bengal, along with her two-month-old child in January 2026. She claimed that she somehow managed to return to Bengaluru, where supporters of the accused’s mother allegedly pressured her to record a video stating that she was happy in the marriage and warned her against revealing details of the relationship.
Based on the complaint, the SG Palya police in Bengaluru registered a case under various provisions related to rape, cruelty, assault, intimidation, violation of privacy, unlawful marriage-related activities and forced religious conversion. The investigation is currently in progress.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner argued that she had no role in the alleged offences and pointed out that the marriage between the complainant and the first accused had been registered under the Special Marriage Act on June 18, 2025. Taking note of these submissions and the available material, the High Court granted anticipatory bail to the petitioner while directing her to cooperate fully with the investigation.
