Mumbai court bars rape accused from reopening shop near survivor’s home

A Mumbai sessions court has refused to let a 51-year-old pan shop owner, accused of repeatedly raping a woman with intellectual disability and impregnating her, relax his bail conditions to reopen his shop near her residence. Judge Ashwini V Kasture ruled on Friday that the accused's right to earn a livelihood cannot override the need to protect the survivor from constant physical proximity to him.

The man was arrested in April 2025 and granted bail three months later on condition that he stay away from the victim's locality until the trial ends. His lawyer argued that since the chargesheet was filed and the victim's statement recorded, the condition was no longer needed, and that he was the sole earner in financial distress. The court rejected this, saying no evidence showed the same shop at the same spot was his only means of livelihood. "Permitting the applicant…would substantially nullify the very object and purpose of the condition," the judge said.

The prosecution says the accused gave Rs 500 to the victim's mother, offered food to the woman, and threatened her into silence. The intervenor-victim, represented by advocate Lorna Carvaloho, argued that reopening the shop at the building's entrance would cause fear and trauma, and noted that the DNA report is still pending.