Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday granted bail to the law student charged with trying to extort money from Swami Chinmayanand, the BJP leader whom she has accused of rape.
Chinmayanand, whose trust runs the Shahjahanpur law college where the woman studied, was arrested under section 376-C of the IPC and continues to be in judicial custody.
But, in a related case, the 23-year-old woman and her three friends were also booked on Chinmayanand's complaint that they had demanded Rs 5 crore from him.
The former Union minister alleged that they had threatened to make public video clips that showed him getting massages from the student.
Allowing the student's bail application, Justice S D Singh observed that the police had already completed the investigation and filed a charge sheet.
He said no reasonable apprehension had been cited by the state that her release on bail will delay the trial. Hence, there is no need to detain her further, the court added.
During the bail hearing, the woman's counsel argued that she is a victim of sexual harassment and claimed that all allegations against her are fabricated.
The counsel alleged that the student was raped by Chinmayanand over a long period of time.
Chinmayanand's lawyer opposed the bail application and said the student had used a spy camera for recording the video clips.
The BJP leader was arrested on September 20 by a special investigation team (SIT), formed by Uttar Pradesh Police following directions from the Supreme Court.
He was booked under section 376-C, a charge short of rape. It is applied when someone in authority takes advantage of his official position and induces or seduces a woman to have sex with him.
Apart from the rape allegation, the 23-year-old student said she was often called for giving massages to Chinmayanand, and used a concealed camera to record video clips as evidence.
But Chinmayanand said the clips were recorded to blackmail him. She and her friends had asked him to shell out Rs 5 crore, he alleged.
Last month, the woman was taken from the jail in Shahjahanpur to Bareilly so that she could take an exam at a college there.
She was given admission at the Bareilly college on the Supreme Court's directions so that she could continue her education.
