As per the FIR, the woman met the accused on a dating app in January 2017.

A Delhi court Saturday granted bail to a man who has been accused of raping a woman on the pretext of marriage and, according to the FIR, carrying out “love jihad”.

Granting bail to the accused, Additional Sessions Judge Santosh Snehi Mann said: “Whether sexual intercourse between the complainant and the accused was consensual or on the pretext of marriage is the subject matter of trial. Investigation is complete and the applicant is not required for the purpose of any investigation. He is in custody for the past two months, and there is nothing on record to suggest that if released on bail, he would hamper trial or tamper (with) evidence.”

The complainant’s lawyer had earlier informed the court that the accused had allegedly done “something similar” with many other women, who did not want to pursue the case legally.

Citing the FIR, the complainant’s counsel, Virender Tarun, alleged in court: “He had cheated the complainant — he promised to marry her and then established physical relations. He even tried to extort money… The complainant then found that he had done the same with other women in different cities with the same modus operandi. It is a case of love jihad.”

Lawyer Tarun said the accused, who hails from Kashmir, had created a fake identity while interacting with the woman, whom he met on a dating app.

“Initially, he said that he is a businessman. Later we found out he was a constable. His identity needs to be verified,” he said.

Manu Sharma, the counsel for the accused, then read out certain chats between the complainant and the accused and alleged: “The complainant (woman) had also given a fake identity.”

According to court records, an FIR was registered on August 1 based on the woman’s statement, who alleged that the accused had sexual intercourse with her after promising to marry her. The accused was arrested and has been in custody since September 8. As per the written submission of the investigating officer, a chargesheet has been prepared following the investigation.

As per the FIR, the woman met the accused on a dating app in January 2017. “They were not only physically meeting during this period, they were regularly chatting and texting on mobile phones. Transcripts of some of the chats/mobile phone texts is filed along with the application,” stated court records.