The Hon’ble Supreme Court, on 01st March 2021, asked “Will You Marry Her?” to a 23-year old man, who remains accused of raping a minor girl when she was aged around 16 years.
Hon’ble Chief Justice of India (hereinafter referred to as “CJI”) has taken up a Special Leave Petition (hereinafter referred as “SLP”) filed by the accused, who is a Government Servant of Maharashtra, against an order of the Bombay HC (Aurangabad Bench) which canceled his anticipatory bail, resulting in the suspension of his service if arrested.
Soon after the bench dismissed the petition, the accused has been given the liberty to seek regular bail and granted protection from arrest for four weeks.
The FIR against the petitioner was lodged in 2019 under Sections 376, 417, 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred as “IPC”) and under Sections 4 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter referred as “POCSO Act”) by the victim stated to be 18 years of age. One need not dive into the seriousness of the crimes under the POCSO Act. The very idea of its being on the Statute book is symbolic of its seriousness.
The victim reported that the accused was her distant relative and he used to keep visiting her house. In the years 2014-2015, the accused began stalking her and secretly made entry into her house, and committed rape on multiple occasions. He also terrified her of the consequences if the unpleasant incident was revealed. She has also stated that sometimes he used contraceptives. Since she was frightened, she never revealed this fact. She further alleges that when she, along with a social worker and her mother, went to lodge an FIR in the Police Station, the mother of the accused convinced them not to complain about a promise of accepting her as her daughter-in-law. This was later denied by the accused mother and the FIR was lodged by the victim.
Considering all the above-mentioned facts and circumstances, this is a case that warranted a sympathetic consideration of the victim’s circumstances. The order granting anticipatory bail to the accused was found liable to be set aside.
The application is thereafter allowed by the Hon’ble SC. The anticipatory bail granted to the accused by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jalgaon by the impugned order, is quashed and set aside. The accused is asked to surrender before the Investigating Officer immediately.
Case : Mohit Subhash Chavan Vs. State Of Maharashtra
Coram: Hon’ble Chief Justice Of India SA Bobde, Justices AS Bopanna And V Ramasubrama
Counsel: Adv. Anand Dilip Langde
Citation: Application For Cancellation Of Bail No.32 OF 2020
