The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at a crowded beach in Mumbai in 2021, noting the victim and the accused were friends and charges against him appear implausible.

Judge Prithiviraj Chavan, in an order passed on Wednesday, pointed out that the victim's statement recorded before a magistrate's court revealed she was friends with the accused, and also noted that charges in the three-year-old case have not yet been framed by the trial court.