High Court · 2025

Mr. Ak shay Joshi, Advocat e for t he applicant . Mr. Dinesh Chauhan, A.G.A. for t he St at e of Ut t arahand. This first bail applicat ion has been 2. m oved by t he applicant seeking regular bail in Case Crim e No.51 of 2025, under Sect ions 64 of B.N.S. and Sect ion 3/ 4 of POCSO Act , regist ered at Police St at ion Pit horagar h, Dist rict Pit horagar h. An F.I .R. was lodged by t he m ot her of 3. t he t he vict im , alleging applicant had ent iced away her m inor daught er and com m it t ed sex ual assault upon her. t her ein t hat cust ody Lear ned counsel t hrough I nst agram . t he ant ecedent s t he applicant 4. subm it s t hat t he applicant has been falsely inst ant case, has no im plicat ed crim inal languishing for a j udicial considerable period. I t is cont ended t hat t he alleged act was consensual in nat ur e, arising out of a m ut ual relat ionship bet ween t he applicant and t he vict im , who had becom e social m edia acquaint ed counsel plat form , furt her t he m edical exam inat ion of t he vict im does not indicat e inj ury on her any ext er nal or per son, except for a bit e m ark obser ved near t he right side of her chest , which it self t he com m ission of t he alleged offence. I t is furt her subm it t ed t hat , at t he t im e of t he alleged incident , t he vict im was aged about 15 year s, 10 m ont hs, and 19 day s, w hile t he applicant was 18 years of age. I t is conclusiv ely est ablish Lear ned subm it s int ernal t hat t he subm it t ed t hat t he st at em ent of t he vict im reveals t hat she w as pur suing her st udies in Class XI I and w as also an N.C.C. cadet , indicat ing her m at urit y and capacit y t o com pr ehend t he nat ur e and consequences of her act ions. I t is, t her efore, cont ended t hat t he prosecut ion version is exaggerat ed t he relevant provisions of t he Prot ect ion of Children from Sexual Offences Act , 2012 or t he Bharat iya Nyaya Sanhit a, 2023 is m ade out against t he applicant . t hat no offence under

5. Per cont ra, learned St at e Counsel has vehem ent ly opposed t he bail applicat ion, cont ending t hat t he offence alleged is of a furt her grave and heinous nat ure. subm it t ed t hat Nepal and, if enlar ged on bail, t here exist s a st rong likelihood of his absconding from t he process of law. t he applicant hails I t t he t hat subm it s t he applicant ’s nat ionalit y

6. I n rebut t al, lear ned counsel for t he cont ent ion applicant regarding wholly m isplaced. I t is assert ed t hat t he in Dist rict applicant has been Pit horagar h since birt h and is a per m anent resident t hereof. I t is furt her subm it t ed t hat t he appr ehension of t he applicant ’s fleeing from j ust ice is unfounded and wit hout any fact ual basis. r esiding I nsofar as t o observe

7. t he offences punishable under Sect ions 3 and 4 of t he Prot ect ion of Childr en from Sex ual Offences Act , 2012 ( a special enact m ent ) are concerned, pert inent t he provisions of t he said st at ut e ar e st ringent in nat ure, such rigour does not preclude t he Court it s discr et ionary j urisdict ion t o gr ant or refuse bail, wher e t he fact s and cir cum st ances of t he case so warrant , in order t o secur e t he ends of j ust ice. from exercising t hat alt hough

8. t he prosecut rix had volunt arily The m at erial on r ecord indicat es t hat left her inform ing her parent al hom e wit hout parent s and accom panied t he applicant of her own volit ion. I t is, no doubt , t rue t hat under t he purview of t he POCSO Act , t he prosecut rix is legally a m inor; however, t he fact s of t he present case rev eal t hat she was possessed under st anding, sufficient m at urit y, and discer nm ent t o com prehend t he nat ure and consequences of her act ions, t he com pany of t he applicant . t hat she had volunt arily j oined I t is well set t led by a cat ena of 9. decisions of t he Hon’ble Supr em e Court as well as various High Court s t hat , in cases involving young offender s and consensual relat ionships bet w een adolescent s, a liberal approach m ay be warrant ed at t he st age of bail, so as t o pr event t he r egressive and pr olonged adver se incarcerat ion and t o furt her t he principle of best int er est of bot h t he part ies involved. influences

10. Having r egar d t o t he fact t hat , at t he t im e of t he alleged incident , t he applicant was approxim at ely 18 years of age and t he prosecut rix was ar ound 16 year s of age, and considering t he appar ent consensual nat ure of t heir relat ionship, t his Court is of t he consider ed view t hat t he applicant has m ade out a fit case for grant of bail.

11. Considering t he subm ission of lear ned counsel t he part ies and wit hout expr essing any opinion as t o t he final m erit s t he bail applicat ion st ands allowed. t he case, t he applicant , nam ely, Rahul 12. Let Chand be r eleased on bail, on execut ing per sonal bond and fur nishing t wo reliable sur et ies, each of t he sat isfact ion of Court concerned, subj ect t o t he following condit ions: like am ount , t o ( i) Applicant shall report t o t he I nvest igat ing Officer of concer ned Police St at ion once ever y m ont h on t he t hir d Sat ur day bet w een 10: 00 a.m . t o 12: 00 p.m . for t hree m ont hs or as and when called; ( ii) Applicant shall co- operat e w it h t he conduct of t rial and at t end t he t rial Court on all dat es unless specifically ex em pt ed and unnecessar y adj our nm ent s, if he does so, it will ent it le t he prosecut ion t o apply for cancellat ion of t his order; t ake ( iii) Applicant shall not influence any of t he wit nesses or t am per wit h t he evidence in any m anner nor shall he m ak e at t em pt s t o cont act t he prosecut rix eit her physically or by any elect ronic m eans; ( iv) Applicant shall keep t he I nvest igat ing Officer inform ed of his current addr ess and m obile cont act num ber and / or change of residence or m obile det ails, if any, from t im e t o t im e; ( v) Any infract ion of t he above condit ions shall ent ail cancellat ion of t his order . t he prosecut ion t o ( A l o k M a h r a , J.)

15.10.2025 Arpan ARPAN JAISWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=eabb68a3895e41937c266c23964c0485365445 e3a20dddb7393398f9fe45ba3e, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=060FC17022BEAE3DE215D68D9D454C5 109CB987446351E4DF04AADAA2C2CEA66, cn=ARPAN JAISWAL