A sessions court last week granted anticipatory bail to a 37-year-old woman doctor accused by her husband of misrepresenting another man as her husband in an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure’s consent form.

The court considered that she is a woman and a doctor by profession. Additional sessions judge Purushottam B Jadhav also pointed to the delay in lodging the FIR, which was not explained. While the offence allegedly took place in November 2019, the complaint was lodged in April this year. The couple has had a strained marriage.

The prosecution had opposed relief to the doctor, pointing out that she was a resident of Uttar Pradesh and had not presented herself at the police station. The investigating officer had also told the court that they needed to find out what happened to the babies she had given birth to after the IVF procedure.

The woman’s advocate, in response, informed the court that twins were born out of the procedure prematurely and had died soon after birth. He also produced their death certificates and medical records.

He had also argued that the husband had registered a false case as he wanted to avoid alimony and pointed to the 18 months delay in lodging the complaint.

The medical practitioner had also claimed parity with the man who had signed as her husband in the IVF consent form and booked as a co-accused in the case, who had secured anticipatory bail from the High Court.

On this, however, the court said that the role of the co-accused was a side issue, as observed by the HC in its order, and that her plea had to be decided independently.