Advocate booked for outraging modesty of junior granted pre-arrest bail

Sessions court grants anticipatory bail to advocate accused of outraging modesty of junior colleague. Bail granted on executing PR Bond of ₹20,000.

MUMBAI: A sessions court recently granted anticipatory bail to an advocate booked for allegedly outraging the modesty of his junior colleague. While granting pre-arrest bail, the court order said, “The application is allowed, and it is ordered that in the event of arrest of the applicant, he be released on executing PR Bond of ₹20,000 with surety in the like amount.”

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The prosecution in the case opposed accused advocate Pritesh Burad’s plea for pre-arrest bail on the grounds that he was required to be interrogated along with the statement of the informant (female junior colleague). However, additional sessions judge Priya Bankar observed that no specific reason had been mentioned by the police for the custodial interrogation of Burad. The court further said Burad has a permanent address and there will not be any hurdle to secure his presence during the investigation and trial in the case.

According to the police, the incident occurred on May 31, 2023, when Burad allegedly urged his female junior to meet him after work. When they met later in the day, he insisted they should get a couple’s massage and held her hand, thereby outraging her modesty.

The junior shouted and stormed out of the room and immediately informed her friend about the incident. However, Pritesh Burad allegedly came outside and asked her to join him for a movie and dinner. The female junior said she refused and went home and later the case escalated and went to court.

Advocate Niranjan Mundargi instructed by advocate Omneel Jadhav, representative of Burad, argued in the court that there was a delay in registering the First Information Report (FIR) because there is no material to be recovered at the hands of the applicants and that he has been falsely implicated in the case. They criticised the junior for blotting Burad’s reputation with the aim of extorting money.

The order has also directed that Burad shall neither leave the country without the prior permission of the court nor change his residential address without the prior intimation to the Investigation Officer (IO) and to the court.