The Delhi High Court has declared that a woman's agreement to be in the company of a man cannot be used to imply that she consented to a sexual relationship with him. The court made this statement while hearing the bail plea of Sanjay Malik, also known as Sant Sevak Das, who is accused of raping a Czech national in October 2019 in a Delhi hostel before having physical relations with her on two more occasions in 2020.

The prosecution accused Malik of posing as a "spiritual guru" who could assist the Czech national with the funeral rites of her deceased spouse, who passed away on August 8, 2019. The woman, who was a foreign national and unfamiliar with Hindu rites, was dependent on the accused to help her complete the final rites and ceremonies of her husband.

The court noted that the woman's travel to different places to carry out the final rites happened over a period of almost four months, and it was not specifically alleged that Malik held the woman hostage or forced her to travel with him. However, the court declared that this alone would not be determinative of the state of the prosecutrix's mind to say that the alleged sexual liaisons were consensual.

The court further stated that although the first instance of physical contact was not alleged to be rape, the woman's silence over that act could not be interpreted as approval for more violent sexual contact in the future. Justice Bhambhani observed that the allegations revealed deception and guile on the part of Malik in pretending to be a "holy man" assisting a foreign national with reverent post-death ceremonies for her husband. This aspect of the case was particularly concerning.

Therefore, the Delhi High Court dismissed the bail plea and granted the liberty to apply afresh for the same relief before the trial court once the deposition of all prosecution witnesses is complete.