The Bombay High Court has granted interim protection from arrest to Prithviraj Patil, grandson of former Bihar and West Bengal Governor DY Patil, in a rape case.
Patil, who is also the nephew of former Maharashtra minister Satej Patil, approached the HC seeking pre-arrest bail after the Thane sessions court rejected his plea earlier this month.
“No coercive steps be taken against the applicant till the next date of hearing,” Justice Rajesh Patil said while keeping the matter for haring on April 21.
During the hearing on March 27, Additional Public Prosecutor Ajay Patil submitted that the survivor should be heard in the matter and must be included as a respondent.
Senior advocate Ashok Mundargi, representing Patil, sought permission to amend the petition and join the survivor as a respondent to the plea.
Asking Patil to amend the petition. The HC said: “ If the amendment is not carried out forthwith, the 1 Harish 912-ABA-849-2025.doc anticipatory bail application will stand dismissed without further reference to this Court.” The court has directed Patil to appear before the investigating officer for questioning on April 16 and 17 between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm.
According to the complaint filed in Thane, a 29-year-old student accused Patil of repeatedly raping her under the false pretext of marriage. She claimed they met at a mall in January 2023 and later entered into a relationship.
Patil, however, alleged he was being falsely implicated in a honey trap scheme. His advocate argued that Patil was married, had no criminal record, and had never visited Thane. It was also claimed that the complainant had extorted a substantial amount from him and had a history of filing similar complaints.
