Farooqui granted bail in US researcher rape case

New Delhi: Filmmaker Mahmood Farooqui, facing trial for allegedly raping a US woman, was on Monday granted bail by a city court on the ground of his good conduct. It said the case had reached its final stage.
Farooqui was granted the relief on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with the court observing that he had never tried to influence witnesses or had misused his liberty while being on interim bail."Since all witnesses have been examined and final arguments have been heard too...the fact that Farooqui has attended proceedings on a day-to-day basis while being on interim bail...He is admitted on regular bail," additional sessions judge Sanjiv Jain said. Farooqui is accused of raping the American researcher at his residence on March 28 last year.
Meanwhile, the court concluded recording of final arguments of Farooqui, who called it a "false" case and also questioned the "inexplicable delay" of around three months in filing of the FIR by the woman. However, the court did not reserve the case for verdict as a woman's plea of recalling of a prosecution witness is pending before the Delhi high court.
The HC had asked the lower court to not pronounce its verdict until it disposes of plea. The court has now fixed February 12 to hear the prosecution's remaining arguments, assuming that by then HC would decide on the plea.
While hearing Farooqui's final arguments, the court enquired as to why Farooqui's wife Anusha Rizvi did not confront her husband about the allegations for over a month since the time she had exchanged emails with the complainant. "A wife cannot keep mum for so long when there are such serious allegations against the husband. It was an unusual behaviour," the judge said. Farooqui's lawyer Nitya Ramakrishnan said the accused was being treated for bipolar disorder at rehabilitation centre when the woman had sent an e-mail to him after the alleged incident.
"Rizvi had responded to the e-mail as Farooqui had no access to his laptop at the rehabilitation centre...She could not reach him as he was being treated at the centre...Anusha's father also passed away in May 2015 which was a tough situation for her as well as Farooqui, who was very close to his father-in-law. In these unusual circumstances, she chose to wait for an appropriate time to communicate it to her husband in June which shows her strong, remarkable character," Ramakrishnan submitted.