Bishan Singh vs State Of Himachal Pradesh

Jyotsna Rewal Dua, J

The petitioner has been accused of offences under Sections 452, 354-A, 323, 506 and 509 of Indian Penal Code in FIR No. 144/2020, dated

10.11.2020, registered at Police Station, Majra, Tehsil Paonta Sahib, District Sirmour. In this petition preferred by him for grant of anticipatory bail

under Section 438 of Code of Criminal Procedure, interim protection was granted to him vide order dated 23.11.2020.

As per the status report, the petitioner has joined the investigation and is co-operating with the investigating agency.

The case against the petitioner is that on 10.11.2020 one Smt. Nirmala Devi lodged a complaint against the petitioner alleging that on 9.11.2020 at

around 1:00 P.M. while she was alone in her home, the petitioner came to her room, held her forcibly, indulged in obscene activities and molested her.

In the process to escape from his clutches, her bangles were also broken. It was only when she screamed for help that the petitioner fled from the

spot. Before running away, he threatened her with dire consequences in case she revealed the incident to anyone.

Learned Counsel for the petitioner has taken the plea of false implication and innocence of petitioner. He has argued that because of an ongoing

civil dispute between him and the family of the complainant, the latter has lodged a false complaint against the petitioner. Learned Counsel has further

submitted that petitioner will abide by all the terms and conditions which will be imposed upon him in case the interim protection is confirmed and the

petitioner is enlarged on bail. Whereas, learned Additional Advocate General submitted that in case the Court is inclined to grant the bail to the

petitioner, then the same be made subject to stringent conditions besides directing the petitioner to continue to join and co-operate in the investigations

as and when directed by the investigating agency.

It is seen from the status reports that the complainant is aged 45 years, whereas the accused/petitioner is aged 70 years. They are neighbourers and

are involved in a civil litigation concerning land dispute, presently pending before the civil Court. But for offence under Section 452 IPC, the other

offences are bailable. Looking into the nature of the accusations, mode and manner of the commission of alleged offences, no object will be achieved

in sending the petitioner to judicial custody at this stage. The petitioner is local resident of village and Post Office Kolar, Tehsil Paonta Sahib, Disrict

Sirmour and has already joined the investigation and is cooperating with the investigating agency. There is no criminal history of the petitioner. There is

no allegation in the status report that petitioner while on interim bail had tried to tamper the evidence or influence the prosecution witnesses.

Considering all these aspects, the interim protection granted to the petitioner in the aforesaid FIR vide order dated 23.11.2020 is made absolute subject

to following conditions:

(i) The petitioner shall continue to join the investigation of the case as and when called for by the Investigating Officer in accordance with law and

shall cooperate with the Investigating Agency.

(ii) The petitioner shall not tamper with the evidence or hamper the investigation in any manner whatsoever:

(iii) The petitioner shall not contact the complainant, threaten or browbeat him/her or to use any pressure tactics in any manner whatsoever;

(iv) The petitioner shall not leave India without prior permission of the Court;

(v) In case of launching of prosecution, petitioner shall attend the trial on every hearing, unless exempted in accordance with law;

(vi) The petitioner shall not make any inducement, threat or promise, directly or indirectly, to the Investigating Officer or any person acquainted with

the facts of the case to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court or any Police Officer;

(vii) The petitioner shall inform the Station House Officer of the concerned Police Station about their place of residence during bail and trial. Any

change in the same shall also be communicated within two weeks thereafter. Petitioner shall furnish furnish details of their Aadhar Card, Telephone

Number, E-mail, PAN Card, Bank Account Number, if any.

In case of violation of any of the terms & conditions of the bail, respondent-State shall be at liberty to move appropriate application for cancellation of

the bail. It is made clear that observations made above are only for the purpose of adjudication of instant bail petition and shall not be construed as an

opinion on the merits of the matter.

With the aforesaid observations, the present petition is disposed of, so also the pending miscellaneous applications, if any.