Delhi High Court grants interim protection to former ET Now anchor accused of rape

The Delhi High Court today granted interim protection from arrest to Varun Hiremath, the ET Now anchor who has been accused of raping a 22-year-old woman. A single judge bench of Justice Mukta Gupta granted him protection on the condition that he joins the investigation when required, LiveLaw reported.

Earlier this week, a Delhi court had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Hiremath, who has been on the run since the complaint was filed against him on February 23. The 28-year-old anchor's anticipatory bail petition was also rejected by a Delhi court last month, which observed: "So far as the question about consent or no consent, if the woman states in her evidence before court that she did not consent, the court shall presume that she did not consent.”

The complainant accused Hiremath of raping her in a Delhi hotel on February 20. The Delhi police said that Hiremath has been “evading arrest” and moved a file with the police headquarters to issue a reward on his arrest.

Update on April 11

Hiremath is no longer with ET Now and this story has been updated to reflect that.