Shiney Ahuja gets bail in rape case

Nearly a month after the trial court convicted him for raping his maid, Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja was today granted bail by the Bombay high court.
    
While granting him bail, Justice A R Joshi asked Ahuja to furnish a bail bond of Rs50,000. The judge observed that his custody was not required for now as he had already been convicted but asked him not to leave the country without prior permission of the court.
    
Ahuja was convicted by the sessions court here on March 30, and subsequently he filed an appeal in the high court.
    
Seeking bail for his client, Ahuja's lawyer, senior counsel Shirish Gupte, said the actor was convicted even when there was no allegation of rape against him. The victim had told the trial court that there was no intercourse or rape, and she had given a false statement to the police at the behest of one Rekha Mane, who allegedly had enmity with Ahuja.
   
The trial court sentenced Ahuja to seven years' rigorous imprisonment, relying on circumstantial evidence, though the complainant had turned hostile during the trial.
   
The trial court said it had considered evidence such as positive DNA report, medical evidence of intercourse, and scratch marks on Ahuja's hand.
   
In June 2009, the girl had lodged the complaint alleging that she was raped by the actor at his house. Ahuja was arrested on June 14.