Himachal Pradesh High Court: Anoop Chitkara J. rejected instant bail application in light of the observations made by the Court.
The instant appeal was filed by the petitioner seeking regular bail, incarcerating upon his arrest for alluring and raping a minor girl.
Counsel for the petitioner Mr.Rajesh Mandhotra submitted that the petitioner has no criminal past relating to the offences prescribing sentence of seven years and more, or when on conviction, the sentence imposed was more than three years. It was further submitted that incarceration before the proof of guilt would cause grave injustice to the petitioner and family.
Counsel for the respondent State Mr. Nand Lal Thakur submitted that that the crime is heinous, the accused is a risk to law-abiding people, and bail might send a wrong message to society.
The Court observed that the conduct of the accused is so deplorable that it would make the life of young friends belonging to the opposite gender as miserable. They took advantage of her being with the male friend and the main accused forced himself upon her and they not only did that, they also made a video and made it viral. The accused appears to be pervert and, as such, there is no question to grant the bail to the accused.
The Court thus held “in the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, at this stage, the petitioner fails to make out a case for bail.”
[Rohit Kumar v. State of HP, 2021 SCC OnLine HP 4454, decided on 06-05-2021]
Arunima Bose, Editorial Assistant has put this report together