Allahabad High Court: In a bail application filed by the applicant charged under Sections 376-A, 376-B, 354 of Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), Sections 9-D and 10 of Protection of children from sexual offences, 2012 (‘POCSO Act’), and Section 3(2)(v) of Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act), Sadhna Rani Thakur, J. has without expressing any opinion on the merit of the case, released the applicant on bail subject to some conditions.
The Court noted that on the perusal of the First information report (FIR), it appears that in the absence of other family members, when the eight years old victim was alone at her home, she called the applicant to repair the dish connection, seeing the girl alone at her home, he started vulgar activities with her. In the statement under Section 161 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the victim has stated that when applicant came in the house to repair the dish connection, seeing the girl alone, he inserted his hand in her clothes and kissed her on lips. However, as per statement under Section 164 CrPC of the victim, the applicant after repairing the dish connection held her tightly and kissed on her lips, inserted his hand into her panty and also pressed her breast by inserting her hands therein.
The applicant submitted that there are no ingredients of Section 376 IPC as per the statements of the victim under Sections 161 and 164 CrPC. Further, no medical examination has been conducted as the parents of the victim refused to get her daughter medically examined. Moreover, the father of the victim is police personnel, and the FIR is only the misuse of that power. The applicant is 50 years of age and has been in jail since 13.04.2022.
The Court considering the seriousness of the charge, severity of punishment in case of conviction, the nature of supporting evidence, prima facie satisfaction of the Court in support of the charge, reformative theory of punishment, larger mandate of the Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and the decision in the case of Dataram Singh v. State of U.P., (2018) 3 SCC 22 and without expressing any opinion on the merit of the case, released the applicant on bail subject to certain conditions.
[Manoj Saxena v. State of U.P, 2022 SCC OnLine All 624, decided on 2.9.2022]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Umesh Pal Singh, Advocate, Counsel for the Applicant;
Government Advocate, Counsel for the Opposite Party.