Rape accused’s plea to travel abroad without court’s permission rejected

The police had booked the celebrity cosmetic surgeon Dr Viral Desai for allegedly raping a television actress.

Mumbai: The Mumbai sessions court on Friday rejected the plea of celebrity cosmetic surgeon Dr Viral Desai, seeking relaxation in the bail condition that prohibited him from travelling abroad without prior permission of the trial court. Dr Desai is facing trial for raping a television actress in 2019.

On November 19, 2019, the sessions court granted him anticipatory bail, but on the condition that he will not travel abroad without prior permission of the trial court. He had recently filed an application seeking relaxation of the condition, to enable him to travel abroad without prior permission of the court. (HT PHOTO)

“Considering the facts that the accused is booked under sections 376, 504, 323, 506 of the Indian Penal Code and the trial is pending, the applicant cannot be allowed to travel abroad without the permission of this court,” said additional sessions judge Madhuri Deshpande while rejecting the renowned cosmetic/plastic surgeon’s plea for blanket permission to travel abroad.

The police had booked the surgeon for allegedly raping a television actress, who claimed that the doctor sexually assaulted her at his clinic on August 9, 2019. The doctor denied the charge and claimed that the relationship was consensual.

On November 19, 2019, the sessions court granted him anticipatory bail, but on the condition that he will not travel abroad without prior permission of the trial court. He had recently filed an application seeking relaxation of the condition, to enable him to travel abroad without prior permission of the court.

He contended that he was an empanelled international trainer with Dr Reddy’s Labs, Allergan Medical Institute (AbbVie) Galderma, TLabs, Istanbul and a member of several reputed national and international medical societies.

He said being a member of the medical community and having a medical practice of around two decades, he was required to frequently attend international conferences and workshops and interact with doctors and medical scientists from across the globe for which he was “required to travel abroad on short notice.

He said on some occasions, he has to undertake unscheduled travel for official purposes and due to such unscheduled travel plans on short notice, it was difficult for him to approach the court every time and seek permission to travel abroad, and also offered to intimate and submit his travel schedule to the Santacruz Police station before travelling abroad. He had also claimed that he had regularly attended the trial court and had never misused the liberty.

The contentions, however, failed to impress upon the court, which rejected the doctor’s plea for blanket permission.