The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently dismissed the bail petition of a man accused of committing unnatural sex with an 8-year-old child. “The petitioner comes out to be a sex maniac, himself a teenager, indulging in perverse sexual acts. His such conduct cannot be taken lightly, since if released on bail, he may victimize several other innocent children and is a grave threat to the society,” said the single-judge bench of Justice H. S. Madaan.
Petitioner Manpreet Singh, an accused in FIR dated 02.01.2021, had filed for regular bail. He is accused of offences under Sections 377, 511 IPC and Section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, registered in Police Station Jhunir, District Mansa.
On January 1, 2021, Manpreet Singh took the eight-year-old child , a student of Class II in his school, on a bicycle by giving him allurement of money and then in a room constructed in his field, removed his trouser, took off the pants of the child and started committing sodomy with him; the child victim started crying on account of pain at which Manpreet Singh made him sit on his bicycle and left him near the school premises.
The child informed his father when he came home in the evening; the child was removed to Civil Hospital Sardulgarh, where he was medico-legally examined; the matter was reported to the police on the basis of which, a formal FIR was recorded; the accused was arrested in the case on January 2.
The petitioner had filed an application for grant of regular bail before Special Judge, Mansa, which was dismissed, vide order dated 27.01.2021. He then approached the High Court.
In the High Court, after hearing the counsel for the parties, Justice Madaan observed that the allegations against the petitioner are very grave and serious of attempting to commit unnatural sex with a child of young age of 8 years, making him undergo the nightmarish and traumatic experience, which may haunt him for the rest of his life.
The High Court held that although, on completion of the investigation, the challan has been filed against the accused but the statement of the child victim and the complainant are yet to be recorded.
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The State Counsel expressed the apprehension that if accused is granted bail, there is every likelihood of the petitioner giving threats, intimidation or inducement to the prosecution witnesses in an attempt to make them resile from their statements during the trial to enable him to earn acquittal that cannot be brushed aside lightly. There are chances of his absconding and in the process delaying the trial also, the Counsel added.
“The trial against him is going on, which is likely to be completed in near future. His guilt shall be determined during the trial. If proved guilty, he would be convicted and if not, he may earn an acquittal. However, no ground to grant regular bail to the petitioner pending trial is made out. The petition lacks merit and is dismissed accordingly,” the order reads.