The Future Ai

The court directed that Gill be released on anticipatory bail subject to conditions imposed by the investigating officer and directed him to appear before the trial court on all hearing dates unless specifically exempted.

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has granted anticipatory bail to a Canadian citizen accused in a rape case, observing that unverified allegations alone cannot be a basis for “moral condemnation,” as per a report by PTI news agency.A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and PB Varale granted relief to Manpreet Singh Gill, who was booked by the Punjab Police on charges of rape following a complaint lodged by a woman on November 11, 2025.The woman alleged that Gill had misrepresented his marital status while developing a relationship with her, according to the complaint.She further claimed that Gill threatened her with dire consequences to withdraw an earlier complaint and on the intervening night of November 9 and 10, 2025, he established sexual relations with her after administering alcohol and intimidating her.Gill challenged the Punjab and Haryana high court order denying him pre-arrest bail before the Supreme Court through advocate Sana Raees Khan, according to the PTI news agency report.The relationship between the two parties had been consensual from the very beginning and that the allegations were motivated by an attempt to extort money, Gill’s counsel argued.The counsel further pointed to alleged inconsistencies in the woman’s claims, including the omission of a crucial allegation in the FIR despite her claiming to have received a related video on November 2, 2025.In its April 20 order, the Supreme Court noted that Gill had already been granted interim protection earlier and had cooperated with the investigation by appearing before the investigating officer.“Even according to the complainant, the relationship between the parties was consensual. As to whether any threat was posed, as alleged, is a matter of evidence. Based on unverified allegations, it cannot be held that the appellant requires to be morally condemned,” the court observed.The court directed that Gill be released on anticipatory bail subject to conditions imposed by the investigating officer and directed him to appear before the trial court on all hearing dates unless specifically exempted.Earlier, both the trial court and the Punjab and Haryana high court had rejected Gill’s anticipatory bail plea.