Delhi HC refuses to cancel anticipatory bail to LJP MP Prince Raj in rape case

It said pre-arrest bail cannot be cancelled on “mere asking” as the right to liberty is a crucial right

Delhi High Court. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

The Delhi High Court has declined to cancel the anticipatory bail granted to Lok Janashakthi Party MP Prince Raj in an alleged rape case.

The court dismissed the petition by the complainant-woman observing that the relief was granted to Raj by the trial court in 2021 after considering the material before it. It said pre-arrest bail could not be cancelled on “mere asking” as the right to liberty was a crucial right.

“The anticipatory bail order was passed on the basis of material collected and placed on record i.e. the audio recordings and the transcript [of prosecutrix on the relationship being consensual].... along with other material pertaining to an FIR regarding extortion registered against prosecutrix prior in time,” the court said.

“There is no subsequent event shown to this court which warrants any interference with the order granting bail to the accused persons. Considering the same, this court is not inclined to cancel the anticipatory bail granted to the accused which should not be cancelled on mere asking as an individual’s right to liberty is a crucial right which cannot be interfered with lightly,” the court concluded.

Raj, a nephew of the late Ram Vilas Paswan and cousin of Chirag Paswan, is a Member of Parliament (MP) from Samastipur in Bihar.

The woman, who claimed she was an LJP worker, has accused Raj of raping her while she was unconscious.

The woman challenged the trial court’s September 25, 2021 order granting anticipatory bail to the politician on several grounds including that there was an “unusual delay” in lodging the FIR.