NEW DELHI: The Bombay high court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to a man accused of sexually exploiting a woman by promising her a role in a film and later circulating her private photos and videos online.Justice Shyam C. Chandak, sitting as a vacation bench, rejected the plea filed by accused Abhijit Arun Gade, who is facing charges under Sections 66E and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and Section 69 (rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.The case was registered with Narhe Police Station, Pune, on a report filed by the complainant on April 18, 2026. The sessions court had already rejected his anticipatory bail application before he approached the high court, as per a report by LiveLaw.According to the prosecution, the complainant had first contacted the accused on May 12, 2024, to audition for a specific film called “Dakshin Digvijay.” About 15 days later, they met again, and the accused told her he was searching for a good film story for her and would give her role in that film.This led to a friendship between them. In October 2024, the accused obtained her consent for a physical relationship by promising her work. During this period, he also took objectionable photos and videos of her, assuring her that he would keep them private as a personal memory.The Bombay high court noted that the accused never actually gave her any film work. He also initially concealed the fact that he was married and had a two year old daughter, which he revealed later, and even then claiming his wife was not living with him.Both then decided to end their relationship, with the accused claiming to delete her photos and videos. However, on January 26, 2026 — he sent her a WhatsApp message threatening to post the content online if she go for any auditions etc.The court flatly rejected the accused’s defence that the relationship was consensual and that he had deleted the content. Observing that the accused had “only made a show that he has deleted the subject photos/videos” before later making them viral, the court found the claim unpersuasive.“It appears that, since beginning, the Applicant had ill-intention to misuse the photos/videos of the victim. Thus, the Applicant misused the trust invested in him by Respondent No. 2. Said act of the Applicant has ruined the life of Respondent No. 2. Therefore, there is a prima facie case of the offence of rape,” the bench added.“Custodial interrogation of the Applicant is essential to collect the important electronic evidence and the device containing the same. The offence is serious in nature. The grant of anticipatory bail will adversely affect fair and effective investigation in this case,” it further added.
