The Bombay High Court. (File)THE BOMBAY High Court recently granted bail to a Pune man booked for allegedly abducting and raping a minor girl in 2020.
The court referred to the minor’s statement while granting bail to the man who was married and had children. As per the statement, the girl, who was around 16 then, was acquainted with the applicant. On June 18, 2020, she took a bike ride on his motorcycle.
After some time, when she asked the applicant as to where they were going, he allegedly told her that he was kidnapping her. After searching for places to stay, allegedly took her to a lodge where they stayed till they were traced by the police. The complaint stated that the accused showed as if the two were married, the victim wore a mangalsutra, and they had physical relations during the time they stayed together.
A single-judge bench of Justice Prakash D Naik passed an order on October 20 in plea by the man who was arrested on June 13 last year by Pune police for offence of rape, kidnapping under IPC and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The girl’s mother lodged an FIR stating that on June 18, 2020, her daughter didn’t return home after setting off for work.
Thereafter, the victim and applicant were found together on August 26, 2020. The police recorded the girl’s statement a day after the applicant was arrested.
Advocates Ganesh Gupta and Deepak Gupta for the applicant submitted that the relationship was of a consensual nature.
They said the applicant had been in jail for over a year and the victim’s statement recorded under section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) did not indicate that she was forced to have a physical relationship with the applicant.
“It is true that the victim is minor. She was around 16 years of age. Her statement indicates that she got acquainted with the accused. She left with him on June 18, 2020. She was taken to various places. They stayed together as husband and wife… Considering these facts, the applicant need not be subjected to further custody,” the bench held and granted bail to the applicant on strict conditions.
The bench directed the applicant to be released on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 in lieu of surety, and permitted him to furnish cash bail for eight weeks. It asked him to report to the concerned police station once a month and directed him not to tamper with the evidence and not to approach the victim.