Rangaswamy @ Sujan vs State Of Karnataka & Ors

S Vishwajith Shetty, J

Accused in Special C.No.396/2025 pending on before the Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, FTSC-I, Hassan, arising out of Crime No.54/2025 registered by Hassan Women Police Station, Hassan for offences punishable under Sections 137(2) and 64 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (for short 'BNS, 2023'), Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (for short 'POCSO') and Section 9 of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 is before this Court under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 seeking regular bail.

Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and learned High Court Government Pleader on behalf of respondent No.1.

Respondent No.2 who is served in the matter has remained unrepresented before this Court.

FIR in the present case was registered initially for the offence punishable under Section 137(2) of BNS, 2023 in Crime No.54/2025 by Hassan Women Police Station, Hassan, against unknown person based on the first information dated 10.07.2025 received from respondent No.2 who is the mother of the victim girl who was allegedly aged about 16 years 6 months as on the date of alleged incident.

During the course of investigation, the petitioner and the victim girl were traced together. The petitioner was arrested on 06.08.2025 and remanded to judicial custody. After completion of investigation, charge sheet has been filed against the petitioner for the aforesaid offences.

The bail application filed by the petitioner before the Trial Court in Special C.No.396/2025 was rejected on 27.11.2025. Therefore, the petitioner is before this Court.

Material on record would go to show that the victim girl, studying in II PUC was found missing from her house on 09.07.2025. The efforts made by relatives to trace her had failed and on 10.07.2025 her mother had approached the Police and based on her first information, First Information Report was registered against unknown person in the present case. During the course of investigation, the petitioner and the victim girl were traced together.

The statement of the victim girl under Section 183 of BNS, 2023 in the present case is recorded on 12.08.2025 before the jurisdictional Magistrate. Prior to that, her statement was also recorded by the Police. In both the statements, she has stated that she and the petitioner were in love and after her mother came to know about the same, she had objected for the same, and inspite of the same, they continued to love each other. On 08.07.2025 her mother had quarreled with her and this was informed by the victim girl to the petitioner and to her friend Anjali, who was in love with Prabhu. On 09.07.2025, both the girls left their respective houses and went with aforesaid Prabhu and the petitioner. The aforesaid Prabhu took them to temple and they got married. Thereafter, they had travelled in a bus from Hassan to Bangalore and stayed together in a rented house. The victim girl has stated that in the rented house, they lived together as husband and wife and also had consensual sex. Subsequently, the petitioner and the aforesaid Prabhu came to know about the criminal case registered by the parents of both girls and therefore petitioner and aforesaid Prabhu brought them to the Police Station.

From the aforesaid, it is apparent that the petitioner aged 20 years and the victim girl who was studying in II PUC were in love and the victim girl had voluntarily gone with the petitioner, got married and stayed together along with 2 others. The petitioner who is in custody from 06.08.2025, undisputedly, has no other criminal antecedents.

Considering the aforesaid aspects of the matter and moreso the age of the petitioner and the victim girl, I am of the opinion that the prayer made by the petitioner for grant of regular bail has to be answered in the affirmative.

Accordingly, the following:

ORDER

(i) The Criminal Petition is allowed.

(ii) The petitioner is directed to be enlarged on bail in Special C.No.396/2025 pending on before the Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, FTSC-I, Hassan, arising out of Crime No.54/2025 registered by Hassan Women Police Station, Hassan for offences punishable under Sections 137(2) and 64 of BNS, 2023, Section 6 of POCSO and Section 9 of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, subject to the following conditions:

a) Petitioner shall execute personal bond for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- with two sureties for the likesum, to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court;

b) Petitioner shall appear regularly on all the dates of hearing before the Trial Court unless the Trial Court exempts his appearance for valid reasons;

c) Petitioner shall not directly or indirectly threaten or tamper with the prosecution witnesses;

d) Petitioner shall not involve in similar offences in future;

e) Petitioner shall not leave the jurisdiction of the Trial Court without permission of the said Court until the case registered against him is disposed off.