HC grants bail to minor in sexual assault case

HC considered the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act that deals with releasing a CCL from observation homes

Mumbai Holding that a child in conflict with law (CCL) cannot be denied the right to be with his family, if the psychological report of the Observation Home states that his behaviour is not a threat to society, the Bombay high court granted bail to a minor who is to be tried by a Child Court for allegedly sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl.

The bench was further informed that the minor had cleared the SSC exams but could not study further due to his stay in the home (HT File)

HC considered the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act that deals with releasing a CCL from observation homes. It held that the conditions prescribed by the Act were fulfilled and hence the minor should be bailed, though similar applications were rejected thrice by other courts.

The single judge bench of justice Bharati Dangre, while hearing the bail application, was informed by advocate Mahrukh Adenwala that her client had been kept in the home after being named in the gangrape of a minor along with five others since March 2020. Adenwala submitted the minor was 16 years and five months of age when he was sent to the home.

The bench was further informed that the minor had cleared the SSC exams but could not study further due to his stay in the home. Also, he did not display any signs of being mentally inept or having any criminal bent of mind. Adenwala relied on the psychological report of counsellors who had interacted with the minor during sessions in the home.

The bench was informed that three previous applications for bail had been rejected and if the minor was made to stay here any longer, it would have an adverse impact on him.

Adenwala added that the minor was falsely implicated in the case as his and the victim’s family were at loggerheads, and the victim had not even identified him properly.

The state government through additional public prosecutor A A Takalkar opposed the application and stated that previous rejections were based on grounds that the minor on his release would be back with his family who were also accused in the case. The second ground was that he may cause harm to the victim who lived in the same area and the third that the crime he had committed was heinous and hence the HC should not interfere with the decisions of the previous courts.

Advocate Saveena Bedi for the intervening father of the victim opposed the application and stated that the seven-year-old had been traumatised by the incident and was yet to recover. A sight of him would bring back her trauma and hence he should not be released on bail.

After hearing the submissions, the bench noted that section 12 of the JJ Act mandated that a CCL not be detained for a long period in a home. Justice Dangre reasoned that though the he was to be tried, there would be no harm in releasing him based on the opinions of the councillors.

The court however held that the local police impose restrictions on him to safeguard the minor victim from coming in touch with him. Also, as the grounds of bail rejections by previous courts were insufficient it was granting the CCL bail.