In a significant judgment on Tuesday, the Bombay High Court granted bail to a 28-year-old woman accused of assaulting her seven-year-old son, emphasizing the unlikely nature of a mother harming her own child. The woman had been arrested in October 2023 along with her partner, following allegations of physical and sexual abuse against the child.
Justice Milind Jadhav, presiding over the case, highlighted the ongoing matrimonial dispute between the boy’s parents as a potential factor in the allegations. The dispute, he noted, had placed the child in a difficult position, making him a “scapegoat” in the parents’ conflicts.
Medical reports revealed that the child suffers from epilepsy, regular seizures, and is both malnourished and anemic. The court pointed out that despite these challenges, the accused mother had shown considerable effort to care for and support her son, casting further doubt on the allegations against her.
The complaint, filed by the child’s biological father with the Dahisar police in Mumbai, alleged that his estranged wife and her partner had not only assaulted the child on multiple occasions but also attempted to kill him. Additionally, it was claimed that the woman’s partner had sexually assaulted the boy.
However, the high court found these claims prima facie unbelievable. “No mother can be thought of beating her own child,” stated the court, as it issued the bail on a personal bond of Rs 15,000.
The court also criticized the police for their handling of the arrest, noting that they failed to comply with mandatory Criminal Procedure Code provisions, including informing the accused of the grounds of arrest.
According to the complaint, the boy had been residing with his father in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri after his parents separated in 2019. In a contentious move in 2023, the mother allegedly forcibly took the child to Mumbai, leading to the subsequent legal battles.
