PHULMAI TAMANG Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused/applicant seeks bail in case FIR No. 186/17 of PS Kamla Market for offence under Sec. 366A/368/342/370/370A/ 373/376/109/120B/34 IPC, Sec. 3/5/7 ITP Act, Sec. 17 of POCSO Act and Sec. 23 JJ Act. Broadly speaking, the allegation against the accused/applicant is that the complainant de facto, a resident of Nepal, who succeeded in escaping the illegal custody of a kotha on G.B. Road got an FIR lodged according to which, she was induced by one Raj Kumar, a resident of Nepal to accompany him to Delhi for working as a domestic help but in Delhi he sold her to one Sita, who in turn sold her to the accused/applicant running a kotha. The accused/applicant forcibly confined her to the kotha and in order to compel her into prostitution, beat her up and even injected drugs after which she was forced to indulge into sexual relations with 20 men despite her objections. Further investigation culminated into tracing out one more victim of such forced prostitution.

(2.) At the outset, learned prosecutor points out that the earlier bail application of the accused/applicant was dismissed till Hon'ble Supreme Court and therefore, this is not a fit case to grant bail. In response, learned counsel for the accused/applicant contends that while dismissing the SLP against dismissal of the bail application, the Hon'ble Supreme Court also granted liberty to the accused/applicant to renew her bail application before the trial court if the trial was not concluded within a reasonable period.

(3.) Learned counsel for accused/applicant contends that in accordance with the liberty granted by the apex court, the accused/applicant filed fresh bail application before the learned trial court but the same was dismissed, so the present application has been filed. Learned counsel for accused/ applicant emphasizes that delay in trial is a vital ground for grant of bail and in the present case, only one of the prosecutrix has been examined, and the accused/applicant is in jail for past seven years. No other ground of bail has been pressed.