Bombay High Court denies bail to POCSO accused after noting that accused was uncle of victim girls

The Bombay High Court recently denied bail to a man after noting that he was a close relative of the two minor girls whom he was accused of subjecting to sexual assault. .Justice Prithviraj Chavan reasoned that since the accused is a close relative of the victims, his release from prison would adversely impact the minds of the minor victims who were already traumatized..The accused had been booked in 2021 for rape, molestation and sexual assault of two minor girls aged 13 and 15 years. The sexual assault was alleged to have been going on since 2016-2017. Pertinently, the accused was an uncle of the victims, being the husband of the minor victims' paternal aunt. This was one of the factors that led the High Court to reject his bail plea.“The applicant is a close relative of the victim and the family, in case of his release, it would definitely have an adverse impact upon the mind of the victims, who have already been traumatized. Even chances of influencing them cannot be ruled out,” the Court noted in its January 23 order..The High Court also deduced from the evidence that the allegations against the accused did not appear to be concocted or false.“The applicant (accused) indeed betrayed the trust reposed in him by the victim and succeeded in executing his illegal act of molesting her which definitely constitutes offence not only under the POCSO Act but also under the provision of the IPC," the Court added..The bail applicant had been accused of molesting one of the minors, clicking her nude photographs and showing her pornographic videos and images. The applicant also allegedly threatened to share her photographs over the internet. Further, he was accused of administering stupefying substances before exploiting the victims.The parents filed a complaint in 2021 after which an FIR was registered for offences under the Indian Penal Code, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) and the Information Technology Act. A special POCSO court rejected the accused man's bail application in March 2022, prompting him to approach the High Court in appeal. Before the High Court, the accused man contended that his wife (sister of the victim’s father) was being forced by her brothers to give a no-objection certification (NoC) to relinquish her share in some property. He added that due to his strong objection to giving such an NoC, the relations between the siblings had become sour. He alleged that owing to this, a false case was filed against him. .The additional public prosecutor argued that the offences committed were serious. However, he added that one of the victims had seemingly improved on her statement and that there was no medical evidence to support the allegation of penetrative sexual assault.The counsel appearing for the complainant vehemently opposed the bail application, claiming that the applicant molested the victims by taking advantage of the trust reposed in him..After considering the rival submissions, the Court eventually rejected the bail application. However, it directed the special court to expedite the trial in the case as the accused has been in jail since 2021. .Advocates Nishad Nevgi, Gauraj Shah, Samaa Shah and Junaid Badgujar briefed by SN Juris appeared for the accused.Additional public prosecutor AA Palkar appeared for the State.Advocates Manish Singh and Archana Tiwari appeared for the complainant..[Read order]