• About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Contact Us
Monday, January 25, 2021
Law Trend
  • google-play
  • apple-store
  • Login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Trending Stories
  • Court Updates
  • Judgements
  • Law Trend - हिन्दी
  • Bare Acts and Rules
    • Central
    • State
  • Webinar
  • Columns
  • Online Internship
  • More
    • Humour
    • Submit Judgment/Order/Posts
    • Quotes
    • Legal Dictionary
    • Courts Weblink
No Result
View All Result
Law Trend
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Trending Stories
  • Court Updates
  • Judgements
  • Law Trend - हिन्दी
  • Bare Acts and Rules
    • Central
    • State
  • Webinar
  • Columns
  • Online Internship
  • More
    • Humour
    • Submit Judgment/Order/Posts
    • Quotes
    • Legal Dictionary
    • Courts Weblink
No Result
View All Result
Law Trend
No Result
View All Result

Anticipatory Bail Can be Granted for Offence under SC/ST Act

by Law Trend
January 7, 2021
in Court Updates, Trending Stories
5 min read
Del HC new 2
506
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via WhatsappShare via EmailPinterest

On 5th January 2021, the Delhi High Courts granted bail to an accused in a case of rape, stalking and criminal intimidation to a scheduled caste woman.

Background:

The allegations made against the petitioner, Danish Khan, were of rape under sec.376, along with sections 354d and 506 of IPC, being stalking and criminal intimidation respectively. After a statement given by the victim, a further charge under Sec.3 (2) (v) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SCST Act) was also added.

Khan sought for anticipatory bail under Sec.438 of CrPC.

Maintainability of Bail application:

Submission by the counsel for the State:

The anticipatory bail application was not maintainable as Sec.18 of the SCST Act bars application of bail when an offence has been committed under the Act.

The applicant was charged with Sec.3 (2) (v) of the SCST Act, which provides life imprisonment with fine for a person committing an offence under IPC which has imprisonment of ten years or more. Since rape is an offence holding imprisonment up to ten years, the bail application was not maintainable.

According to the prosecutrix’s statement, the applicant knowing her to be of a scheduled caste, on a false pretext of marriage committed rape on her, hurled caste slurs and even told her that at best if he makes her his second wife that too was a favour.

Citing various precedents, it was submitted that while considering maintainability, a plea of false/malicious complaint against the applicant could not be looked into at this stage of cognizance and issuance of process. It could have been looked at during the time of trial.

Submission by counsel on behalf of applicant:

The present FIR does not make a prima facie case under the SCST Act. Citing precedents, he stated that an offence committed must be on the mere ground that the victim was from SCST category. There is no such allegation here that the applicant subjected her to rape on the mere fact that she was from a scheduled caste.

Looking at the complaint, only an offence of intentionally insulting with intent to humiliate a member of SC/ST may be made out. However, even such humiliation has to be caused “in public view”, which is not the case here as it happened in private at the house of the victim which cannot be held as “in public view”. Thus, the allegation under Sec.3 (2) (v) of the SCST Act was arbitrarily invoked and cannot stand in the way of the application.

The court considered the issue of maintainability in detail, and agreed with the counsel for the applicant, thus allowing the bail application.

Read Also

  • Can Children born out of Inter-Caste Marriage get SC Certificate?
  • Whether States can make Sub-classification of SC/ST notified under Article 341/342 of Constitution? Matter referred to 7 Judges Bench [READ JUDGMENT]
  • Anticipatory Bail Can be Granted Even After Filing of Charge Sheet: Allahabad HC
  • 100% Reservation is Unconstitutional- SC 5 Judges
  • What is the tenure of protection granted under Anticipatory Bail? :SC 5 Judges

Merits of the bail plea:

The counsel for the applicant stated that the prosecutrix had been friends with the applicant since 2013. The two took trips together to Shimla and Himachal Pradesh in 2014 and 2016 respectively. There was a seven-year long consensual relationship between the parties. It was only 1-1.5 years after the 2019 sexual assault allegation that the FIR has been filed. Their seven-year relationship and the trips were a pure fact of their consensual relationship and thus other offences of stalking and criminal intimidation can also not be made out.

The applicant had also facilitated the prosecutrix/her family to buy a property in Wazirabad and helped them to shift. He later bought the property from the mother and let out certain portions to tenants. One of these portions was rented by the prosecutrix and her mother. Due to the reason that the applicant asked them via a legal notice to vacate, the FIR was a direct counter-blast of the eviction.

The court, however, did not wish to delve any further into the factual controversies or merits of the allegations and counter-allegations in the present proceedings.

Non-Bailable Warrant Issue:

The applicant was never arrested even after filing the charge-sheet and thorough investigation. According to the investigating officer, the applicant had failed to appear before the Sessions Court due to which his bail application was rejected and non-bailable warrants were issued. However, the reason that the NBW’s were not acted upon was that the applicant had not been traceable. New NBWs have also been issued by the lower court, which are returnable by 26/2/21.

The prayer before the court was only for bail and no mention of NBWs was made. The court thus had to address the issue if bail can be granted when NBWs are issued against a person. However, nothing was barring the court from granting bail even when NBWs have been issued.

Decision:

Looking at the facts of the case, the Hon’ble Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani allowed bail to the applicant with necessary precautions. Reasons Stated were as follows:

According to her own statement that there wasa relationship between the parties and they even travelled together. Even her parents had agreed for their marriage.

The issue of property seems to have become that of civil nature due to legal notices having been issued by the applicant.

FIR is been registered alleging various episodes of sexual assault from 2013-19, however, had been only filed 1.5 years later.

The applicant had not been arrested even after filing charge-sheet and proceeding investigation.

Story by Sai Kulkarni-Intern

Tags: anticipatory baildelhi high courtsc/sttrend2

Related Posts

SHIRDI SAI BABA
Trending Stories

All the Counsels have gone to “Shirdi”- Allahabad HC allows adjournment with cost of Rs 3000

January 25, 2021
covid 19
Trending Stories

Provide Exact Vaccination Programme of COVID 19: Allahabad HC to Centre

January 25, 2021
Jharkhand High Court 2
Court Updates

Retrospective application of 10% reservation for EWS is violative of Article 14 and 16

January 25, 2021

POPULAR NEWS

  • advocate sticker fortuner

    Where is the Provision of Using Advocate Sticker on Vehicle?

    5026 shares
    Share 2010 Tweet 1257
  • What is the tenure of protection granted under Anticipatory Bail? :SC 5 Judges

    4806 shares
    Share 1922 Tweet 1201
  • Air Asia Crashes Against Gaurav Taneja; Court Says Airline Suppressed Facts

    4644 shares
    Share 1858 Tweet 1161
  • Husband-Wife Take Oath as High Court Judge

    3247 shares
    Share 1299 Tweet 812
  • Is Using Stickers of ‘‘Advocate’’ on Vehicle legally Allowed?

    3184 shares
    Share 1274 Tweet 796
Law Trend

Rabhyaa Foundation has started this platform on values enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution of India. The object of this platform is to create informed citizens with recent legal updates, Judgments, Legislations of Parliament and State Legislatures, and views of experts in the field of law, in plain and pointed language, for the intellectual development of citizens.
Our tag line “The Line of Law” guides that this......
Read More

Follow Us On Social Media

Subscribe to our News Letter

Sign Up for weekly newsletter to get the latest news, Updates and amazing offers delivered directly in to your inbox.

Categories

  • Trending Stories
  • Court Updates
  • Columns
  • Bare Acts and Rules
  • Online Internship
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Contact Us

© 2020 Law Trends| All Right Reserved | Designed ByAaratechnologies Pvt Ltd

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Trending Stories
  • Court Updates
  • Judgements
  • Law Trend – हिन्दी
  • Bare Acts and Rules
    • Central
    • State
      • Uttar Pradesh Acts
      • Uttar Pradesh Rules
      • Uttrakhand
      • DELHI
  • Webinar/Videos
  • Columns
  • Online Internship
  • More
    • Humour
    • Submit Judgment/Order/Posts
    • Quotes
    • Legal Dictionary
    • Courts Weblink
  • Android App
  • IOS APP

© 2020 Law Trends| All Right Reserved | Designed ByAaratechnologies Pvt Ltd

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In