Spl court to hear bail plea in sexual offence against SC/ST minor: HC

PRAYAGRAJ :The Allahabad High Court has held that in a crime involving a sexual offence against a minor belonging to the SC/ST community, the special court set up under the POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act will hear the bail application of the accused.

By this order, the confusion has been cleared about which court in each district of Uttar Pradesh, has the power to hear a bail application in case a minor belonging to Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe community is a victim of a sexual offence.

This was because the POCSO Act also provides that under the Act, a special court shall be established in each district of a state for trial of cases under POCSO Act and SC/ST Act also provides that separate special courts under SC/ST Act must be set up in all districts of a state.

Justice JJ Munir held that the bail application of one Rinku, who was accused of a sexual offence against a minor of SC/ST community, is maintainable and said that in such cases, if the bail application of accused is rejected by the special court under POCSO Act, accused is at liberty to file a bail application before the High Court and same is maintainable.

Advocates Chetan Chatterjee and Rajiv Lochan Shukla were assisting the court as amicus curiae (impartial adviser to a court) in this matter.

Allegations against Rinku were that on July 7, 2017, he and his friends had gang raped a girl belonging to a Scheduled Caste community but when her mother tried to lodge an FIR, police officers refused to register the same and only after order of Chief Judicial Magistrate, on August 26, 2017, an FIR was registered against all the accused, including Rinku.

The accused pled that he was being wrongly framed in the case and in the past too, seven criminal cases were filed from time to time against him by the family members of the girl, which were all false.

The court, while holding that bail application is maintainable in such cases and can be filed by an accused before High Court, fixed February 22 as next date of hearing to decide bail application of accused, on merit.