MUMBAI, July 24 -- The 40-year-old female teacher of a prominent Mumbai school who was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for engaging in sexual activity with one of her students, was granted bail on the ground that the boy was over 16 years of age, and evidence shows there was a "consensual relationship subsequently." As reported earlier by HT, the teacher had been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting the minor student on multiple occasions for over a year and for luring him to five-star hotels, plying him with alcohol and then engaging in sex with him. She was arrested last month after the boy's family complained to the police. In a detailed order, the special court for cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act noted that the accused's resignation from the school last year-during which the alleged sexual assaults took place-- had diluted the "student-teacher dynamic." Special judge Sabina Malik also said the trial will take time to commence, so keeping the woman behind bars would not serve any purpose. The court granted the woman bail after considering that she is the mother of two minor children. The accused has denied all the allegations, claiming the FIR was "motivated" and filed at the insistence of the boy's mother who disapproved of their relationship. In her bail plea, she stated that the boy was emotionally attached to her and referred to her as his "wife". She also claimed that he had sent her affectionate messages and handwritten notes, and had a tattoo of her name on his body, adding that these facts were deliberately omitted from the police complaint. The teacher also claimed that she had resigned from the school in April 2024 to distance herself from the boy and insisted that she would only meet him with his mother's permission. However, he continued to contact her, she alleged. According to the FIR, from January 2024 to February 2025, the woman had sex with the boy at various five-star hotels and also in her car. She allegedly also gave him alcohol and medication for anxiety, and used a female colleague to persuade him to meet her. In the bail order, the court noted, "As the accused had resigned from the school, the relationship of a teacher and student no longer existed and, hence, the influence was diluted."...