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Bombay HC grants bail to man booked for minor’s sexual assault to reform
The man was booked for unnatural sex and threatening under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and for forceful sexual exploitation of a minor under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012.
While observing that a man booked for sexually assaulting a minor will have to serve punishment after conviction, the Bombay high court (HC) recently granted bail to a 20-year-old booked for a similar crime on the grounds that he deserves a chance for reformation.
The court noted that as the man, lodged at Yerawada jail at Pune, was undergoing clinical counselling by psychologists at Sassoon Hospital, it would help determine whether he was repentant about his act or wanted to continue to follow his antecedents.
A single bench of justice Bharati Dangre, while hearing the bail application of the accused, was informed by his advocate Rajesh More that the man was undergoing reformative counselling in Yerawada jail while waiting for the trial to begin. More stressed on the fact that considering the crime he has committed, the man could be incarcerated for a long time, which may turn him into a hardened criminal, and hence he should be granted bail while he was undergoing counselling.
The man was booked for unnatural sex and threatening under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and for forceful sexual exploitation of a minor under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012.
Additional public prosecutor SV Gavand for the state informed the court that the man was in conflict with the law when he was a juvenile, and had been booked twice after attaining majority.
However, Gavand admitted that the jail and the hospital reports showed that the man had maintained good behaviour and was responding to counselling.
After hearing the submissions, the court, while granting bail, observed, “The applicant is barely 20 years old and deserves a chance for reformation, though the offence with which he is charged cannot be wiped out, and on conviction, he should suffer the penalty prescribed. However, he deserves one chance of not just being out of prison to face the trial, but also to start his life afresh awaiting his trial. This opportunity will determine whether he repents over his past alleged conduct or whether he continues to follow his antecedents.”
