New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Friday granted interim protection from arrest to TV journalist Varun Hiremath, who is accused of rape, with the condition that he shall join the investigation whenever required.According to LiveLaw, a single-judge bench of Justice Mukta Gupta passed the order on Friday. Hiremath, who is an anchor for ET Now, was previously denied bail by the Patiala house court in March.The case against Hiremath was registered in February, following which he went into hiding. ADelhi court had issued a non-bailable warrant against the journalist. The Delhi police also moved a file before the Delhi Police Headquarters for a proposed reward announcement on his arrest, according to LiveLaw.Hiremath was accused of raping a 22-year-old-woman in the national capital in an FIR lodged at the Chanakyapuri police station. The FIR invokes sections 376 (punishment for rape), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 509 (insulting modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.The woman’s complaint said that she and Hiremath met on the morning of February 21 at Delhi’s Khan Market and went to a hotel in Chanakyapuri. The complaint reads, “I met the accused at a restaurant … where the accused had wine, and I did not consume any alcohol. Following that, the accused asked me to accompany him to his hotel, where he was staying with his family. However, at this juncture, it is crucial to emphasise that I had only agreed to spend time to chat and catch up with the accused, and at no point of time was this an indication of willingness or consent to engage in any sexual activity let alone intercourse.”In the order rejecting Hiremanth’s bail application, additional sessions judge Sanjay Khanagwal said, “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.”In a complaint to Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde, the woman accused Khanagwal of “insensitive, inappropriate and traumatising behaviour” during the anticipatory bail hearing. She claimed that while the counsel for the accused repeatedly made disparaging remarks and jokes at her expense during the hearing, the judge laughed along.