Mumbai, Sept. 24 -- The Bombay High Court last week rejected the bail application of a man accused of raping his colleague while he was on bail in another case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Rejecting his bail application, Justice Neela Gokhale observed that given his tendencies, he was likely to repeat his actions. The court's September 19 order read that the 34-year-old accused, who worked in a real estate company in Bandra (West), had "committed the present offence while he is on bail in the previous CR (Complaint Register in a criminal offence)." The court held that the allegations in the earlier CR were also grave, since the accused was married and had eloped with a minor girl. According to the prosecution, he had allegedly promised to marry her and forced her to have sexual relations with him. The court noted that the minor victim in the previous case against the accused had died by suicide and the trial in that case was pending. Justice Gokhale's order said that based on the accused's tendencies, there was "reasonable apprehension that there is a likelihood of the Applicant repeating such conduct". The accused was seeking bail in a case of rape lodged on February 19, 2024 by his 41-year-old colleague. As per the complaint, he had allegedly "declared his love" for the woman but she did not reciprocate the feelings. On February 18, 2024, the woman had invited the accused and some other colleagues home for a party. However, only the man and one more female colleague showed up. The woman told the police that at about 1 am, when the female colleague left, she asked the man to leave but he stayed back under the pretext of finishing his drink. He then entered her bedroom and "raped her violently" twice before leaving at 3:30 am. According to the prosecution, the man told the woman that "he loved her and would ensure that she birthed his child so that she would be compelled to marry him". The woman was scared and she informed her friends about the incident the next morning and then filed an FIR on February 20, 2024. Seeking bail, the man told the court that his relationship with the woman had been consensual and she had filed a complaint against him at the behest of another man that she was allegedly in a relationship with. The prosecution argued that there was no intimate relationship between the victim and the accused. The victim's medical records showed that she had sustained nine injuries and multiple bruises on her arms in the violent attack on her. The court was also told that on November 29, 2020 the man was charged under POCSO in an offence registered at the MIDC Police Station. The prosecution pointed out that the POCSO case had been so serious that the minor victim in the case had died by suicide. Turning down his bail plea Justice Gokhale said, "...there is no reason to believe that the act was consensual. The nature and gravity of the offence is quite serious."...