The Delhi High Court granted bail to a man accused of sexually assaulting his minor daughter, while observing that it cannot shut its eyes to the matrimonial dispute between the girl’s parents and the chances of the minor girl being “tutored” by her mother cannot also be ruled out, The Indian Express reported.
A single-judge bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan was hearing a man’s plea seeking regular bail in connection with an FIR where he was booked under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
In its order on August 14, the judge said, “Undisputedly, the allegations are serious, but this court cannot shut its eyes to the fact that there is a matrimonial dispute pending between the victim’s parents; there are cross FIRs/complaints lodged both from the complainant’s as well as from petitioner’s side.”
Noting that the incidents alleged occurred in 2019-2022, and the complaint was made only in 2023, the court said, “There is also an inordinate delay in the registration of present FIR; in the two FIRs lodged earlier by the complainant, there is no reference to the alleged three incidents.”
The High Court noted that the minor daughter, aged about 15 years and nine months, has been residing with the mother for over four years.
“In this factual backdrop, false implication of the petitioner by the complainant by tutoring the minor girl child who is in complainant’s custody, cannot be ruled out,” the high court said.
The court also noted that there have been many cross FIRs and other cases from both sides, however, in the two FIRs filed by the mother last year, “there is not an iota of reference” to the alleged incidents of sexual assault.
The High Court granted bail to the man on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and one surety bond of the like amount subject to certain conditions, adding that the order shall not be construed as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case.
It also said that the apprehensions of the prosecution that if released on bail the man may intimidate or threaten the minor girl, can be addressed by imposing a condition that the man “shall not contact the girl during the pendency of the trial”.
