Court No. - 53
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 44986 of 2018 Applicant :- Dheeraj Opposite Party :- State Of U.P.
Counsel for Applicant :- Ram Bhajan Chaudhary Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble J.J. Munir,J.
This is an application for bail on behalf of the applicant Dheeraj, in Case Crime No.480 of 2018, under Sections 363, 366, 376 IPC, read with Section 3/4 POCSO Act, Police Station Loni Border, District Ghaziabad.
Heard Sri Ram Bhajan Chaudhary, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Akhilesh Kumar Mishra, learned AGA along with Sri Abhinav Tripathi, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State.
The submission of the learned counsel for the applicant is that the prosecutrix is a major going by the medico legal estimation of her age, as certified by the Chief Medical Officer, Ghaziabad vide his certificate dated 14.8.2018 where, based on an ossification test, the Chief Medical Officer opined her to be aged about 18 years. It is submitted that looking to the age of the prosecutrix, the provisions of the POCSO Act are not attracted. Learned counsel for the applicant has taken the Court through the statement of the prosecutrix under Section 164 Cr.P.C., recorded before the Judicial Magistrate on 21.5.2018 where in unqualified terms, the prosecutrix has said that she went along with the applicant of her free will and married him in the Arya Samaj Mandir on 15.5.2018. She has further said that the parties have not yet consummated marriage and they have had no physical relations. It is further said that the applicant has not ravished the prosecutrix. The submission of learned counsel for the applicant is that the statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C., is wholesomely exculpatory and knocks out the bottom of the prosecution case.
Learned AGA has opposed the prayer for bail.
Considering the overall facts and circumstances of the case, the gravity of the offence, the nature of allegation, the evidence appearing in the case, the severity of punishment, and, in particular, the fact that the going by the medico legal estimation of the age of the prosecutrix, she is prima facie a major and the statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C., is exculpatory, but without expressing any opinion on merits, this Court finds it to be a fit case for bail.
The bail application, accordingly, stands allowed.
Let the applicant Dheeraj, in Case Crime No.480 of 2018, under Sections 363, 366, 376 IPC, read with Section 3/4 POCSO Act, Police Station Loni Border, District Ghaziabad be released on bail on executing his personal bond and furnishing two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned with the following conditions:
i) The applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence.
ii) The applicant shall not threaten or harass the prosecution witnesses.
iii) The applicant shall appear on the date fixed by the trial court.
iv) The applicant shall not commit an offence similar to the offence of which the applicant is accused, or suspected of the commission.
v) The applicant shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade such person from disclosing facts to the Court or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence.
In case of default of any of the conditions enumerated above, the complainant would be free to move an application for cancellation of bail before this Court.
Order Date :- 27.11.2018 NSC