Singer Ankit Tiwari approaches court to discharge rape allegation

Bollywood singer Ankit Tiwari has submitted an application to to the sessions court seeking a discharge of the allegation��against him, which was initially made in 2014, for allegedly raping a woman. Tiwari, who was arrested in May 2014, was granted bail a month later. He has always maintained his innocence.

In his defence, the popular music director of��‘Aashiqui 2′(2013) fame states that his relationship with the complainant was consensual and the claim she had ‘never consumed alcohol’ could not be true, as she works in the advertising industry.

The complainant was reportedly in a relationship with Tiwari and claims he raped her repeatedly between October 2012 and December 2013 after promising to marry her, but never proceeded to fulfill that promise.

The singer was consequently booked by the police under section 376 (rape), 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage) and 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, pending a criminal investigation.

Ankur Tiwari, the defendant’s brother, was also arrested for allegedly threatening the woman.

As reported by��NDTV Movies, the defence application states the following, “The victim claimed she had never consumed liquor but the fact remains that the victim was working in an advertising company related to entertainment industry and it cannot be believed that she had never consumed alcohol. His relationship with her was consensual.”

In another complaint,��Tiwari apparently made a video clip of the victim ��and threatened to make it public. The respondent has refuted this on the grounds that he was a reputable singer and a music director at the time the incident is said to have taken place.��The application made by Tiwari, in turn, adds speculation on the grounds of credibility, stating that the allegations made by the complainant in her written statement to the police and those in the subsequent First Information Report (FIR), vary.

Last week, the court issued a Non-Bailable Warrant against Tiwari for non-appearance after he failed to show up. On Thursday, the court stayed the warrant but asked Tiwari to ensure he presented himself at the next hearing.

Tiwari’s lawyer, Mahesh Vaswani, has confirmed the plea will be heard in court on 4th May.

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