NDLI: Bhagwan Singh Vs. Dilip Kumar @ Deepu @ Depak and Another

Content Provider	Supreme Court of India
e-ISSN	30484839
Language	English
Access Restriction	NDLI
Subject Keyword	Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 – s. 439
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Law Judgement
Jurisdiction	India
Act(s) Referred	Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (32 of 2012) Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (33 of 1989) Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860)
Case(s) Referred	Referred Case 0 Referred Case 1 Referred Case 2 Referred Case 3
Case Type	Appeal
Court	Supreme Court of India
Disposal Nature	Appeal Allowed
Headnote	Issue for consideration: Whether the Single Judge of the High Courtwas justifi ed in granting bail to the respondent-accused in connection with theFIR registered against them by the appellant-uncle of the minor girl alleginggang rape, threat of making video of rape recorded viral and extortion forthe off ences punishable u/ss. 376D, 384, 506 IPC, s. 3 to 6 of POCSO Act,s. 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention ofAtrocities) Act, 1989 and s. 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s. 439 – Special powers of HighCourt or Court of Session regarding bail – Grant of bail – Allegation ofgang rape of minor girl aged 15 years, threat of making video of raperecorded viral and extortion – Registration of FIR by the complainantunclefor the minor girl for off ences punishable u/ss. 376D, 384, 506 IPC,s. 3 to 6 of POCSO Act, s. 3(2)(v) of the 1989 Act and s. 66 of the 2000 Actagainst three accused, one son of the sitting MLA, other an acquaintanceand the third one the manager of the hotel where the alleged incidentoccurred – Grant of bail by the High Court – Justifi cation:Held: Instant case is a heinous one and would be a onslaught on thedignity of the womanhood – Father of the victim was a police constable,far below in the hierarchy of service – One of the accused was the son of asitting MLA and another accused seems to have criminal antecedents andthe third accused was the manager of the Hotel where the alleged incidentof gang rape occurred – Reason assigned for 13 month delay in fi ling thecomplaint was constant threat posed by the accused persons of making thevideo of rape to go viral, especially being in a domineering position – Fact of delay prima facie cannot be held against the prosecution – Genuinenessof the complaint cannot be viewed with doubt nor it can be held that by itselfwould be suffi cient ground to enlarge the accused on bail – Prosecutrix madeallegations against the concerned accused and it becomes amply clear fromthe plain reading of the complaint as well as the testimony of the prosecutrixthat accused persons had indeed participated in the gang rape – High Courterred in not considering the basic facts while considering the prayer for bail– Court framed charges, prima facie discloses the possibility and reasonablesuspicion of the accused prima facie culpability – Impugned order grantingbail not only bereft of material particulars which would justify grant of bail,but seems that the High Court got swayed on the ground of delay and thevideo having not been recovered during the course of investigation and gavea complete go by to the allegation made in the FIR and statement recorded asalso the testimony of the prosecutrix before the court – Thus, the order of theHigh Court set aside – Penal Code, 1860 – ss. 376D, 384, 506 – Protectionof Children from Sexual Off ences Act, 2012 – s. 3 to 6 – Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 – s. 3(2)(v) –Information Technology Act, 2000 – s. 66. [Paras 17, 20-21, 23-28]Bail – Grant of – Parameters to be considered:Held: Grant of bail is a discretionary relief – Such discretion is to beexercised in a judicious manner and not as a matter of course – Grant ofbail is dependant upon contextual facts of the matter and may vary fromcase to case – There cannot be any exhaustive parameters for consideringthe application for grant of bail – However, while granting bail the courthas to keep in mind the nature of accusations, severity of the punishment,if the accusations entails a conviction and the nature of evidence in supportof the accusations – Reasonable apprehensions of the witnesses beingtempered with or the apprehension of there being a threat for the complainant– Prima facie satisfaction of the Court in support of the charge – Frivilityof prosecution should always be considered and it is only the element ofgenuineness that shall have to be considered in the matter of grant of bail.[Para 12]Bail – Cancellation of grant of bail – Factors to be considered:Held: There should be presence of cogent and overwhelmingcircumstances – Bail once granted cannot be cancelled in a mechanical manner without considering whether any supervening circumstances haverendered it in conducing to allow fair trial – Each case would have uniquefacts peculiar to its own and the same would hold key for adjudication of bailmatters including cancellation thereof – There may be circumstances whereinterference to or attempt to interfere with the course of administration ofjustice or evasion or attempt to evade to due course of justice are abuse ofconcession granted to the accused in any manner. [Paras 13, 16]Delay/laches – Delay of more than one year in lodging an FIR –Eff ect of, on the prosecution case:Held: Delay by itself would not be fatal to the prosecution case and thecriminality attached to the incident would not disappear or get extinguishedby virtue of such delay – It all depends upon facts that may unfold in givencircumstances and same would vary from case to case – If the prosecutionattempts to improvise its case stage by stage and step by step during theinterregnum period, in such circumstances accused would be justifi ed incontending that delay was fatal.
Judge	Hon'ble Mr. Justice Aravind Kumar
Neutral Citation	2023 INSC 761
Petitioner	Bhagwan Singh
Respondent	Dilip Kumar @ Deepu @ Depak And Another
SCR	[2023] 11 S.C.R. 469
Judgement Date	2023-08-23
Case Number	2560

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