Hukam Singh S/o Sh. Prithvi Singh vs State of Rajasthan Through Public Prosecutor

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Public

Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.

The instant bail application under Section 439 Cr.P.C. has

been preferred on behalf of the petitioner who is in custody in

connection with F.I.R. No.3/2017, registered at Police Station

Karda, District Jalore for the offences under Sections 363, 366A

and 376 IPC and Section 3/4 of the POCSO Act.

A typed report of the alleged rape committed upon the

prosecutrix Mst. R was lodged by her father at the Police Station

Karda on 3.1.2017. In the said report, the date of birth of the

victim was mentioned as 11.3.1999 and a transfer certificate to

this effect was annexed with the report. It is alleged in the report

that the victim went missing on 21.12.2016 and she returned back

on 21.12.2016. On making enquiries, she disclosed that she had

gone to ease herself when three persons came around in a black

coloured car with their faces covered. They forcibly kidnapped and

took her away in the car. She was taken to a hilly area near

Raniwara. She could identify two persons namely, Vijay and

Praveen whereas third person was not known to her. Vijay and

Praveen subjected her to forcible sexual assault and threatened

her not to disclose the incident to anybody. It was also mentioned

in the report that an unknown person having mobile no.

9001510991 was making calls on the mobile no. 9783963201 held

by the complainant. On the basis of this report, FIR No.3/2017

was registered at the Police Station Karda for the offences under

Sections 363, 366A and 376(c) IPC and Section 3/4 of the POCSO

Act and investigation commenced. Though the FIR was lodged

after a delay of nearly 14 days and that too on the basis of the

information supplied by the victim, the petitioner was not named

therein. However, when the victim herself was examined under

Section 161 Cr.P.C. on 5.1.2017, she alleged that the third person

who was accompanying Vijay and Praveen was the present

petitioner who has newspaper business at Bhinmal. She alleged

that all three subjected her to forcible sexual assault. The first

informant was examined under Section 161 Cr.P.C. on 5.1.2017

and in such statement, he alleged that his daughter disclosed the

entire sequence of events to him whereafter he accompanied with

his daughter, the prosecutrix went to the Bhinmal Court, got the

report typed and lodged the FIR at Police Station Karda.

During course of investigation, various call detail records

were collected and the I.O. after finding the named accused Vijay

and Praveen innocent has exonerated them. The date of birth of

the victim as mentioned in the FIR was found incorrect upon

verification and thereafter, the offences under the POCSO have

been deleted from the charges. The petitioner now remains the

sole accused in the case as per the investigating agency. He has

been arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Hence, the

instant bail application has been preferred on his behalf.

Shri Shah learned counsel for the petitioner vehemently

urged that that petitioner has been falsely implicated in the case.

The entire case as set out in the FIR stands falsified after

exclusion of Vijay and Praveen from the array of the accused. The

petitioner was admittedly known to the victim from before but she

did not divulge his name when the FIR was typed out and lodged

at the Police Station Karda after nearly 14 days of the incident. He

has placed on record, certain print outs of the whatsapp messages

exchanged from the mobile numbers held by the victim''s father

and the petitioner and urges that from these messages, it is

apparent that as a matter of fact, the victim was pressurizing the

petitioner to establish relations with her but the petitioner was not

relenting. He thus prays that the petitioner should be enlarged on

bail.

Learned Public Prosecutor as well as the learned counsel for

the complainant vehemently oppose the submissions advanced by

the petitioner''s counsel. However, the learned Public Prosecutor

with reference to the factual report of the I.O., which is taken on

record, candidly concedes that the prosecution case as regards the

date of birth of the victim mentioned in the FIR has been found to

be false and instead her actual date of birth is recorded in the

school documents as 26.12.1996.

Two accused named in the FIR namely, Vijay and Praveen

have been found innocent. The petitioner was admittedly known to

the prosecutrix from before. In this background, omission of his

name in the FIR gains significance and goes to the root of the

matter. Be that as it may. Any opinion on the veracity of the

prosecution story may prejudice investigation and trial, but having

regard to the facts and circumstances noticed above, this Court is

of the opinion that the petitioner deserves to be released on bail.

Accordingly, the bail application under Section 439 Cr.P.C. is

allowed and it is directed that the petitioner Hukam Singh arrested

in connection with the F.I.R. No.3/2017, registered at Police

Station Karda, District Jalore shall be released on bail provided he

furnishes a personal bond of Rs.50,000/- and two surety bonds of

Rs.25,000/- each to the satisfaction of the learned trial court with

the stipulation to appear before that Court on all dates of hearing

and as and when called upon to do so.