PRASHANT ( KALU) KHAGEN BISHWAS Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The applicant herein has approached this Court for grant of bail in respect of the offences, with which he has been charged as per FIR dated 31/12/2018. The case against the applicant is that he allegedly kidnapped and raped a minor girl i.e. the daughter of the complainant. Initially, the FIR was registered for offence punishable under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, but later, on the statement of the prosecutrix being recorded, the offences under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 were also added.

(2.) The case against the applicant in brief is that the complainant found his daughter missing since 22/12/2018 and he eventually reported the matter to the Police leading to registration of FIR dated 31/12/2018 against the applicant. The material on record shows that there has been a backdrop to the said registration of FIR in the sense that even as per the prosecutrix herein, she had eloped with the applicant on an earlier occasion and they had gone to the State of Andhra Pradesh but, they had returned back to their place of residence.

(3.) On the basis of the FIR registered against the applicant, investigation was undertaken. In fact, the applicant alongwith the prosecutrix were finally apprehended on 16/01/2019 and the applicant was arrested. He has been behind the bars since then.