Mumbai: The Bombay high court has refused to grant bail to a 31-year-old man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old Facebook friend after calling him home and serving spiked juice. The case was registered after the complainant attempted to commit suicide by consuming phenyl.

Justice Revati Mohite-Dere rejected the bail plea after considering the medical report that confirmed sexual assault. While rejecting the bail plea of the accused, Dilip Thakur, Justice Mohite-Dere observed, “Considering the material on record, this is not a fit case to enlarge the applicant on bail. Application is accordingly rejected.”

The judge, however, also clarified that the observations made by the high court are prima facie. She also added that the trial court shall decide the case on its own merits, in according with law, uninfluenced by the observation made in her order.

As per the First Information Report (FIR) registered with the Meghwadi police, both Thakur and the complainant were into art and became friends on Facebook. According to the complainant, the incident took place on June 26, 2018, when Thakur had invited him over to his house. Thakur allegedly offered the victim limejuice but felt giddy after consuming it before falling unconscious. The accused allegedly began sexually assaulting the victim.

According to the FIR, when the complainant woke up, he found himself on the bed naked. The victim felt acute pain in the abdomen and was bleeding. He went home crying but he did not disclose the incident to anyone. Later, the complainant consumed phenyl and messaged his friend that he was committing suicide. The friend informed the complainant’s parents and they managed to save him.