Criminal Petition No. 6997 of 2025 · The High Court
Case Details
- 1 - NC: 2025:KHC:21520 CRL.P No. 6997 of 2025 HC-KAR IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 20TH DAY OF JUNE, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 6997 OF 2025 BETWEEN: MOHAMMAD SHAHID S/O. MOHAMMED MUJEEB AGED ABOUT 19 YEARS R/AT 6TH CROSS, ILIYAS NAGAR, SHIVAMOGGA - 577 202 (BY SRI LETHIF B., ADVOCATE) AND: STATE OF KARNATAKA BY DODDAPET POLICE STATION, SHIVAMOGGA DISTRICT REP BY SPP, HIGH COURT BUILDING BENGALURU - 560 001 …PETITIONER (BY SMT. RASHMI PATEL, HCGP) …RESPONDENT THIS CRL.P FILED U/S 439 CR.P.C (U/S 483 BNSS) PRAYING TO RELEASE HIM ON BAIL IN CR.NO.430/2024 OF DODDAPETE POLICE STATION, SHIVAMOGGA, FOR THE OFFENCES P/U/S 127(7), 332(b), 352, 351(2), 115(2), 76, 70(1), 311, 3(5), 238(b) OF BNS, U/S 66(E),67(A) OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT, 2008, PENDING ON THE FILE OF ADDITIONAL DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE, FTSC-I (POCSO), SHIVAMOGGA AND ETC., THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: Digitally signed by HARIKRISHNA V Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - NC: 2025:KHC:21520 CRL.P No. 6997 of 2025 HC-KAR CORAM: HON'BLE MR JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY ORAL ORDER Accused No.1 in Crime No.430/2024 registered by Doddapete Police Station, Shivamogga, for the offences punishable under Sections 127(7), 332(b), 352, 351(2), 115(2), 76, 70(1), 311, 3(5), 238(b) of BNS 2023, and Sections 66(E) and 67(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2008 is before this Court under Section 483 of the BNSS, 2023, seeking regular bail. 2.
Legal Reasoning
Heard the learned counsel for the parties. 3. FIR in Crime No.430/2024 was registered by Doddapete Police Station, Shivamogga against the petitioner and two others for the aforesaid offences based on the first information dated 22.11.2024 submitted by the victim lady, aged about 36 years. 4. During the course of investigation of the case, petitioner herein who is arrayed as accused No.1 in the FIR was arrested on 16.12.2024 and subsequently - 3 - NC: 2025:KHC:21520 CRL.P No. 6997 of 2025 HC-KAR remanded to judicial custody. After completing investigation, chargesheet has been filed against three persons and petitioner is arrayed as accused No.1 in the chargesheet. Bail application filed by him before the Jurisdictional Sessions Court in Crl.Misc.No.157/2025 was rejected on 27.02.2025. Therefore, petitioner is before this Court. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner aged about 19 years having no criminal antecedents is in custody for the last more than six months. Investigation of the case is completed and charge sheet has been filed. Victim lady has neither identified the accused, nor she has co-operated for her medical examination. False case has been registered against the accused for extraneous reasons. Accordingly, he prays to allow the petition. 6. Per contra, learned HCGP has opposed the petition. She submits that accused persons have - 4 - NC: 2025:KHC:21520 CRL.P No. 6997 of 2025 HC-KAR committed heinous offence and in the event they are enlarged on bail, they are likely to flee away from justice. Accordingly, she prays to dismiss this petition. 7. FIR in the present case was registered for the aforesaid offences against the petitioner and others by Doddapete Police Station, Shivamogga based on the first information dated 22.11.2024 received from the victim lady, aged about 36 years. In the typed first information dated 22.11.2024 the victim lady has stated that she is a widow having three children and on 20.11.2024 at about 11.00 p.m. when she was in her house which she had newly taken on rent, her acquaintance Ganesh from Hitta village, Shivamogga came to the said house carrying meals and water to the victim and she saw three boys standing in front of her house. On the night 20.11.2024, Ganesh allegedly had called her and therefore, she had gone to meet him and after returning to her house along with Ganesh they had left the door open. - 5 - NC: 2025:KHC:21520 CRL.P No. 6997 of 2025 HC-KAR 8. At about 11.05 p.m, the aforesaid three persons all of a sudden barged into the house and after abusing her using filthy language asked her and Ganesh to remove their clothes and thereafter, they recorded their obscene photos and videos in the mobile phone. Subsequently, they sent Ganesh outside the house and committed rape on her. She has further alleged that the aforesaid three accused persons while leaving the house took a sum of Rs.28,000/- and also her gold jewellery, silver jewellery, mobile phone and two mobile sim cards. 9. Petitioner herein who is named as accused No.1 in the FIR was arrested on 16.12.2024. Investigation has been completed and charge sheet has been filed. 10. Material on record would go to show that the victim girl has not co-operated for the purpose of her medical examination. The accused persons were strangers to the victim and her friend Ganesh. Therefore, the jurisdictional Tahsildar had conducted test identification - 6 - NC: 2025:KHC:21520 CRL.P No. 6997 of 2025 HC-KAR parade of the accused persons in the present case. The victim lady as well as Ganesh alias Chetan Kumar alias Gowda (CW2) have failed to identify the accused persons in the test identification parade that was held by the Tahsildar. Though the alleged incident had taken place on the intervening night of 20.11.2024 and 21.11.2024, belatedly complaint has been filed in the present case after two days i.e., 22.11.2024. 11. Material on record would also go to show that CW2 and CW6 had met the accused persons on 21.11.2024 and according to the prosecution, the articles which were taken away by the accused persons from the house of the victim on the night of 20.11.2024, were all returned and the obscene photos and videos which were in the mobile phone were deleted before returning the same to CW2. 12. Learned HCGP has fairly submitted that though an attempt was made to retrieve the said obscene photos - 7 - NC: 2025:KHC:21520 CRL.P No. 6997 of 2025 HC-KAR and videos, nothing has been found in the mobile phones recovered in the present case. Undisputedly, petitioner has no criminal antecedents. Investigation of case has been completed and charge sheet has been already filed. 13. Considering the aforesaid aspects of the matter, I am of the opinion that the prayer made by the petitioner aged about 19 years for grant of regular bail needs to be answered affirmatively. Accordingly, the following order,
Decision
ORDER The petition is allowed. The petitioner is directed to be enlarged on bail in Crime No.430/2024 of Doddapete Police Station, Shivamogga registered for the offences punishable under Sections 127(7), 332(b), 352, 351(2), 115(2), 76, 70(1), 311, 3(5), 238(b) of BNS 2023, and Sections 66(E) and 67(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2008, subject to the following conditions: a) Petitioner shall execute personal bond for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- with two sureties for - 8 - NC: 2025:KHC:21520 CRL.P No. 6997 of 2025 HC-KAR the likesum, to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court; b) The petitioner shall appear regularly on all the dates of hearing before the Trial Court unless the Trial Court exempts his appearance for valid reasons; c) The petitioner shall not directly or indirectly threaten or tamper with the prosecution witnesses; d) The petitioner shall not involve in similar offences in future; e) The petitioner shall not leave the jurisdiction of the Trial Court without permission of the said Court until the case registered against him is disposed off. SD/- (S VISHWAJITH SHETTY) JUDGE CR List No.: 1 Sl No.: 54