Allahabad High Court rejects anticipatory bail plea of Congress MP accused of sexually exploiting woman

Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Congress MP Rakesh Rathore who is accused of sexual exploitation of a woman. The court disposed of the petition.

The order was passed by a single bench of Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan after hearing the anticipatory bail plea filed by Rathore, the MP from Sitapur. The lawyer appearing on behalf of the petitioner told the court that the plaintiff had filed this case after four years. The petitioner has been falsely implicated in this case, he said.

The lawyer appearing on behalf of the plaintiff told the court that the petitioner is a respected leader of the society. The delay took place on the part of the plaintiff in filing the case out of the petitioner's fear, the lawyer added.

The petitioner's lawyer sought time from the court for the MP's surrender. The court asked the MP to surrender in the sessions court within two weeks and also said his bail plea should be disposed of as soon as possible without any delay.

On January 17, police registered a case against Rathore following a complaint from a woman, who accused him of sexually exploiting her for the past four years promising to marry her.

On January 20, Rathore's counsels, advocates Arvind Masdalan and Dinesh Tripathi, filed a petition seeking anticipatory bail in Sitapur.

On January 23, the MP-MLA court in Sitapur rejected the anticipatory bail plea of the MP.