Feb 22, 2025

Girl, 14, Aware of Her Actions, Says HC, Grants Bail to Pocso Accused

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to a 24-year-old man booked for raping a 14-year-old minor girl, noting that the victim had 'sufficient knowledge' and 'capacity' to know the 'full import of her actions' as she 'voluntarily' stayed with the accused for 4 days.

In its 10-page order, a bench of Justice Milind Jadhav considered the statements of the victim wherein she said that she had a consensual relationship with the accused and that she was aware of her actions and stayed with the Applicant for more than 3 days and 3 nights.

The bench also stressed that while the offences punishable under Sections 4, 6 and 8 of the POCSO Act are stringent, the same would not deter the Court from granting or refusing bail to secure the ends of justice.

“The conduct of the prosecution in this case is indicative of the fact that she left her home without informing her parents by her own will and also stayed with Applicant for 4 days. No doubt that the prosexutrix under the purview of POCSO Act is a minor, however the facts of the present case indicate that she had sufficient knowledge and capacity to know the full import of her actions and what she was doing and had only thereafter voluntarily joined and stayed with the Applicant for 4 days,” the single judge observed in its order."

Judge Jadhav noted that multiple decisions of the Supreme Court and various other Courts have favoured the release of young offenders on bail pending trial so that the regressive influences of the jail environment can be avoided and keeping in mind the principle of best interest in the circumstances of a particular case.

The Court noted that the act committed against the victim was not violent and that the Applicant had no prior criminal history, which served as a mitigating factor.

Additionally, the Court also took into account the fact that the accused, who was arrested in 2019 at the age of 19, had already spent over 5 years, 2 months, and 23 days in jail.