Bail Will Be Against Interest Of Society As Prosecution’s Statements Are Yet To Be Recorded: J&K&L HC Dismisses Bail Plea In Rape & Suicide Case
The Jammu & Kashmir And Ladakh High Court remarked that there was enough material on record to show the accused’s involvement in the alleged “heinous” crime.
Justice Sanjay Dhar, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court
The Jammu & Kashmir And Ladakh High Court dismissed a Bail Application in a rape and suicide case while holding that enlarging the accused on bail will be against the interests of the society as the statements of the prosecution’s witnesses are yet to be recorded.
The Court pointed out that there was enough material on record in the charge sheet to show the accused’s involvement in the alleged “heinous” crime where a young girl not only lost her chastity but was compelled to commit suicide.
A Single Bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar ordered, “The charges against the petitioner have been framed by the trial court recently on 19.11.2024 and not even a single prosecution witness has been examined as yet. In these circumstances, enlarging the petitioner on bail at this stage would not only be against the interests of the society but it would also expose the material witnesses of the prosecution to danger of being threatened by the petitioner as their statements are yet to be recorded by the trial court. Therefore, the petitioner is not entitled to bail at this stage.”
Advocate Amandeep Singh represented the Petitioner, while Dy. AG Vishal Bharti appeared for the Respondents.
Brief Facts
The father of the deceased girl alleged that after her sudden death, he learned from his wife that the accused, a local boy, had been following the deceased on her way to college. He further alleged that despite being warned by the deceased's mother, the accused continued to do so. The mother later discovered that the deceased, upon returning home one day, was upset and disclosed that the accused had been compelling her to engage in a physical relationship. The deceased also disclosed that the accused had taken intimate photos of her and threatened to make them viral. As a result, the deceased felt depressed and struggled to concentrate on her studies.
The Application submitted to the Magistrate under Section 156(3) of the Cr.P.C. alleged the accused's involvement in the girl's death. Based on these allegations, an FIR was registered against the accused under Sections 366, 376, and 506 of the IPC, and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Court’s Reasoning
The Bench noted that after the investigation, the investigating agency came to the conclusion that the deceased had committed suicide after jumping from the running train because of the harassment and threats by the accused.
The Court remarked that the call data records collected by the investigating agency clearly showed that the deceased girl was in constant touch with the accused.
“In addition to this, the investigating agency has, during the investigation of the case, retrieved the photographs of the deceased girl from the mobile cell phone of the petitioner which he had deleted from his phone. All these circumstances, prima facie, go on to show the involvement of the petitioner in the alleged crime. Therefore, contention of learned counsel for the petitioner that the charge laid against the petitioner is frivolous, is without any merit,” it remarked.
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the Bail Application.
Cause Title: Sunil Kumar Sharma v. UT of J&K & Ors.
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates Amandeep Singh, Mahesh Bakshi and Varun Gupta
Respondents: Dy. AG Vishal Bharti