Maharaj Singh v. State of U.P.And 3 Others

Court No. - 70 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 50420 of 2023 Applicant :- Maharaj Singh Opposite Party :- State Of U.P.And 3 Others Counsel for Applicant :- Rakesh Kumar Yadav Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Sameer Jain,J.

¶1Sri Imran Khan, learned AGA for the State, apprised the Court that notice has been served to the informant of the case in the last week of November, 2023.

¶2Despite service of notice, none appeared on behalf of the informant.

¶3Heard Sri Rakesh Kumar Yadav, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Imran Khan, learned AGA, for the State.

¶4The instant bail application has been filed on behalf of the applicant with the prayer to release him on bail in Case Crime No.365 of 2023, under Sections 363, 366 and 376 IPC and Section 3/4 POCSO Act, Police Station Ghatampur, District Kanpur Nagar during pendency of the trial.

¶5FIR of the present case was lodged against the applicant and one another and according to the FIR, applicant and one another enticed away the daughter of the informant aged about 15 years.

¶6Learned counsel for the applicant submits that applicant is innocent and the allegation made against him is totally false and baseless and this fact is evident from both the statements of the victim recorded under Sections 161 and 164 Cr.P.C.

¶7He further submits that during investigation the victim in her both the statements categorically stated that she herself had gone along with the applicant and also performed marriage with him.

¶8He further submits that as per school record the age of the victim at the time of incident was 17 years 10 months and as per birth certificate issued by the competent authority she was about 22 years old and, therefore, it appears that at the time of incident she was major.

¶9He further submits that applicant is not having any previous criminal history and in the present matter he is in jail since

26.8.2023.

¶10Per contra, learned AGA although opposed the prayer for bail but could not dispute the argument on facts advanced by the learned counsel for the applicant.

¶11I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record of the case.

¶12Considering the statements of the victim recorded under Sections 161 and 164 Cr.P.C. and her date of birth mentioned in her school record and her birth certificate issued by the competent authority, in my view, applicant is entitled to be released on bail.

¶13Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the instant bail application is allowed.

¶14Let the applicant-Maharaj Singh be released on bail in the aforesaid case on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned with the following conditions:-

(i) The applicant shall appear before the trial court on the dates fixed, unless his personal presence is exempted.

(ii) The applicant shall not directly or indirectly, make inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court or any police officer or tamper with the evidence.

(iii) The applicant shall not indulge in any criminal and anti-social activity.

¶15In case of breach of any of the above condition, the prosecution will be at liberty to move an application before this Court for cancellation of the bail of the applicant.

¶16It is clarified that the observations made herein are limited to the facts brought in by the parties pertaining to the disposal of bail application and the said observations shall have no bearing on the merits of the case during trial. Order Date :- 11.12.2023 SKM High Court of Judicature at Allahabad High Court of Judicature at Allahabad