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Arrest will hit career: J&K HC grants bail to rape accused IAF officer
The Jammu and Kashmir high court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to an Indian Air Force wing commander accused of raping a 26-year-old flying officer at the Srinagar airforce station
The Jammu and Kashmir high court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to an Indian Air Force wing commander accused of raping a 26-year-old flying officer at the Srinagar airforce station, noting that arrest will harm his reputation.
The high court asked him not to leave the Union Territory and furnish surety bonds of ₹50,000. The court also permitted the investigation to continue but directed the police not to file a charge sheet without its permission.
“The prima facie case for indulgence is made out at this stage at the petitioner who is serving as wing commander in the Air force Station Srinagar and in case of his arrest his reputation as well as the service career shall be jeopardised,” said justice Rajnesh Oswal in his order.
The court asked for a status report on or before the next date of hearing, and directed that in the event of his arrest, he be released on bail.
“He shall not leave the UT of J&K without the permission of his commanding officer, he will not contact any prosecution witnesses either physically or through any other mode, he shall appear before the IO on 14 -9 2024 to 16-9 2024 and thereafter as and when required,” the order said.
The woman officer -- stationed at the Srinagar airforce station-- had filed a police complaint alleging that the wing commander sexually harassed her on New Year’s Eve and that several lapses in the internal investigation led to further harassment and mental torture.
Based on her complaint filed on September 8 at Srinagar’s Budgam police station, the Jammu and Kashmir Police filed a first information report under section 376(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and launched an investigation into the allegations.
The woman officer also sought legal action against five “perpetrators”, including an air commodore, three group captains and a wing commander, while alleging a string of lapses in the internal investigations that led to “continued mental harassment”. The FIR, however, did not give details of their involvement in the case.
According to the allegations in the FIR, seen by HT, the incident took place eight months ago after a New Year’s party at an officers’ mess on December 31 when the wing commander allegedly asked the complainant if she had received a gift on the occasion. When she said she hadn’t, the officer allegedly took her to his room -- where the gifts were kept and his family wasn’t present -- and forced her to perform oral sex on him, she alleged.
“I repeatedly asked him to stop doing it and tried to resist it in all ways possible. Finally, I pushed him and ran away,” her complaint said. The woman officer was commissioned into IAF two years ago and this is her first posting.
The FIR, she alleged that she confided in two women officers that she was sexually assaulted, and they guided her to lodge an official complaint, following which a court of inquiry was ordered. According to her, the wing commander was made to sit with her during the proceedings on January 29 and 30, 2024, to which she objected as it violated regulations in such cases.
“The internal committee did not do its job properly as directions had come from higher formation to keep the result as neutral. Everyone was aiding the sexual offender...I requested interim relief and leave multiple times, but I was denied leave each time. I asked that either self or wing commander get posted from this place, but till date both are posted in the same place. I am forced to socialise with these people and attend events with my abuser,” she alleged in the FIR.
In her complaint, the woman officer further alleged that while the wing commander was enjoying himself, she was being harassed by the authorities. The investigation ended on May 15.
“The ongoing harassment has had a severe impact on my mental health. I am living in constant fear, under 24/7 scrutiny and my social life has been completely disrupted. The harassment has driven me to suicidal thoughts, and I feel utterly helpless. I have endured this torture for too long, and I am at my breaking point.”
She alleged that a person she spoke with was detained and questioned by the local authorities on the orders of a group captain and a court of inquiry was ordered against her with the terms of reference being, “to investigate the report of authorised stay at living accommodation of flying officer (the complainant) by an army officer.”
