The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to a man accused of rape on the conditions that he will marry the complainant within three months and would not tamper with evidence in the case.

The bail order, issued on February 20, does not specify why the man was ordered to marry the woman and whether the complainant was heard by the court.

Justice Krishan Pahal passed the order after the man’s legal counsel argued that the 26-year-old “is ready to take care of the victim as his wedded wife”. It was also submitted that the man had no criminal history and that he had been “languishing in jail” since September 21.

The Agra Police arrested Naresh Meena, alias Narsaram Meena, under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to rape and criminal intimidation. The police also invoked a section of the Information Technology Act that penalises electronic transmission of obscene material.

The prosecution has alleged that Meena deceived the complainant by promising a job with the Uttar Pradesh Police, took Rs 9 lakh from her, sexually assaulted the 23-year-old woman and later shared an explicit video of her on social media, Bar and Bench reported.

Meena’s counsel argued that “the allegations are per se false” and pointed out that the first information report was filed four months after the alleged incident with “no explanation” for the delay.

The court observed that while Uttar Pradesh had opposed the bail, the state had failed to present exceptional circumstances justifying the denial of bail.

“The well-known principle of ‘presumption of innocence unless proven guilty’, gives rise to the concept of bail as a rule and imprisonment as an exception,” Pahal said.

Besides directing the man to marry the victim, he was also ordered to be present before the trial court for the hearings.