GAJANAND Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed by the accused under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the ' Cr.P.C .', for brevity) seeking bail in Crime No.7/2020 of HalIyal Police Station registered for the offences punishable under Sections 363 , 366A and 376 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the ' IPC ', for brevity) and Sections 4 , 6 , 8 and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as the POCSO Act, for short).

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that one Devendra, s/o Chandrakant Ghatgolkar has lodged a missing complaint on 16.01.2020 before the PSI Haliyal alleging that this sister Deepa born on 23.09.2003 is studying 1st year PUC in Computer Science in V.D. Hegde college, Haliyal and she has gone to college on 14.01.2020 in the morning and did not return home and he intimated the same to his father who was working in Bengaluru. Therefore, he went to Haliyal Police Station and filed a complaint on 16.01.2020 and a case came to be registered in Haliyal Police Station Crime No.7/2020 for the offence under Section 363 of IPC. The police have recorded the further statement of the complainant on 26.01.2020 after the victim was secured on 25.01.2020. At that time, the complainant, the father and the mother have asked the victim regarding her missing and it was alleged that she informed them that she got to know one Gajanand s/o Bhairappa Gurav, the petitioner/accused who had expressed his love for her about six months back and on 13.01.2020 he invited her to Dharwad and on the next day i.e. 14.01.2020 she had gone to Dharwad and the petitioner had received her and took her to a room in Amarnagar, Dharwad till evening and at about 5.00 clock when she wanted to go home, at that time, Gajanand asked her to stay and said that he will marry her. They stayed in the room till 18.01.2020 and on 19.01.2020, Gajanand at about 11.30 in the night alleged to have forced her for sexual intercourse and removed her clothes and had intercourse for three times. They stayed in the same room till 22.01.2020 and on 23.01.2020 they had stayed in another room near bricks klin. On 25.01.2020, the victim asked that she is willing to meet her parents and therefore, the accused left her near Hubli Bala Mandir and went from there and therefore, Haliyal Police have gone there and brought the victim to Haliyal Police Station and a case came to be registered for the offences under Sections 363 , 366(A) and 376 of IPC and Sections 4, 6, 8 and 10 of the POCSO Act. The petitioner came to be arrested on 28.01.2020 and he approached the Special Court seeking bail in Spl.Case No.19/2020 and the same came to be rejected by order dated 29.06.2020. Therefore, the petitioner is before this Court seeking bail.

(3.) Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent-State.