Tendency in society not to treat mental health issue as illness: Himachal Pradesh High Court grants bail to accused on ground of mental illness

While granting bail to an accused on the ground of mental illness, the Himachal Pradesh High Court remarked that there is a tendency amongst people and society not to treat mental issues as illness and to ignore it or opt for religious remedies (Ajay v. State of Himachal Pradesh)..Justice Anoop Chitkara observed in the order,"The fact that the accused is being given treatment in PGI Chandigarh, which is renowned institution, itself, shows the seriousness of his illness. Furthermore, there is a tendency amongst the people and the society not to treat mental problem as illness and, thus, either ignore it or go for religious remedies. The petitioner, who is suffering from serious mental illness, cannot be left in this stage in the prison. So when his family has undertaken to give treatment on this own. On this ground, the petitioner is entitled for bail.".The Court thus granted bail to the accused on the ground that the proviso to Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) states that even for offences punishable with life imprisonment or death penalty, the Court may release a sick person on bail.."The petitioner, who is suffering from serious mental illness, cannot be left in this stage in the prison. More so, when his family has undertaken to give treatment on this own."Himachal Pradesh HC.The bail application was moved by one Ajay, who was charged with rape other connected offences. The Court had earlier rejected his bail application on merits. But this time, the applicant pressed for mental illness as a ground for granting bail. .Ajay was accused of raping a minor girl (victim) whom he had promised to marry. After the incident, he warned the victim not to tell anyone. He had promised to meet the victim's family to discuss marriage the following day. However, he absconded and never came back to meet the victim.One day, the disconsolate victim left her home and went to Paonta Sahiba, Later, one Shalu tried to console the victim when she found her sitting alone and took her to a different city where she was forced into sex trafficking. She was subsequently raped multiple times at the behest of Shalu, who received payment from the assailants..On January 30, the victim’s uncle came to know that she is in an escort company and Shalu also came to know that the victim’s uncle is aware of her location. The victim was asked to leave the place for 3-4 days and, after that, to come again. She managed to escape the clutches of Shalu and returned home..When the police came to know about the said incident and the victim gave a statement, the accused were arrested and the officer in charge of the police station filed a police report under Section 173(2) CrPC..The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged under Section 363 (punishment for kidnapping), Section 366A (procuration of minor girl), Section 376 (Rape), Section 370A (exploitation of a trafficked person) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. .On the question of Ajay's mental illness, even the State did not deny the same. It specifically stated that the petitioner is undergoing treatment from PGI Chandigarh from the Department of Psychiatry. .Counsel for petitioner submitted that the investigation is complete and his client's custody is unwarranted. On the other hand, Additional Advocate General (AAG) Nand Lal Thakur opposed the bail application and said that the role of the accused in forcing a vulnerable minor girl into flesh trade cannot be ignored. .Accordingly, considering the mental condition of the accused, the Court considered it a fit case for bail.The bail was granted with subject to the following additional conditions, among othersThe petitioner shall neither stare, stalk, make any gestures, remarks, call, contact, message the victim, either physically, or through phone call or any other social media, nor roam around the victim's home.The petitioner should stay far away from the place of occurrence while on bail. Thus, the petitioner shall not enter within a radius of one kilometre from her house. .The petitioner was also directed to furnish a personal bond of ₹10,000 and either two sureties of ₹25,000 each or fixed deposit for ₹10,000..[Read order]