PAWAN KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner has approached this Court seeking bail in case FIR No. 38 of 2022, dtd. 13/2/2022, registered in Police Station Paonta Sahib, District Sirmour, H.P. under Ss. 376 of IPC.

(2.) Status Report stands filed and record has also been made available.

(3.) As per Status report, on 13/2/2022, 25 years old victim, alongwith relatives, submitted a complaint, complaining therein that petitioner had been exploiting her physically since last four years with false promise to marry, who had come in her contact in the year 2017 while she was serving in Goyal Motors, Paonta Sahib in Service Customer Cell, as petitioner had contacted her telephonically and had started talking with her on one pretext or other and one day after asking about caste of victim, he had expressed his intention to marry her by saying that he was also of the same caste. In this way, they continued to talk for about one month. On 16/9/2017, on the birthday of petitioner, he called victim to meet him in the park where from, in his car, petitioner took her to Motal Hotel at Dakrani and checked-in a room and celebrated birthday by cutting a cake and thereafter by saying, that he would marry her, asked for promise not to refuse his demand and ultimately despite refusal by the victim, developed physical relation with her and thereafter continued to do the same. It has been further stated in the complaint that after getting job as driver in H.P. Public Service Commission, Shimla in June, 2019, petitioner started maintaining distance from her, but whenever he used to come from Shimla to Paonta, he used to call her and to have physical relations. Like this on 1/2/2020 also he called her at Badripur Chowk and at that time victim has asked petitioner to solemnize marriage at the earliest, whereupon petitioner replied in affirmative and took her in his Car to Brighten Hotel, Moginand Paonta and made physical relations with her. Thereafter, in January 2021 in Customary Caste Panchayat petitioner had agreed to solemnize engagement ceremony in April, 2021 and to solemnize marriage on some auspicious beginning (muhoort), but petitioner did not keep his promise which resulted to filing of complaint on 20/6/2021 against the petitioner in Police Station, Paonta.