Uttarakhand High Court
BA1/1217/2025 on 27 March, 2026
2026:UHC:2184
Office Notes,
reports, orders
or proceedings
SL.
Date or directions COURT'S OR JUDGE'S ORDERS
No.
and Registrar's
order with
Signatures
BA1 No.1217 of 2025
Hon'ble Alok Mahra, J.
Mr. Kishore Rai and Mr. Mani Kumar, Advocates for the applicant.
Mr. V.S. Pal, A.G.A. and Mr. Nikhil Bisht, Brief Holder for the State of Uttarakhand.
2. This first bail application has been moved by the applicant seeking regular bail in F.I.R. No.109 of 2025, under Section 65(1) & 137(2) of B.N.S., 2023 and Section 3 & 4 of POCSO Act, registered at Police Station Sitarganj, District Udham Singh Nagar.
3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the present case and has been in judicial custody since 24.04.2025. It is further submitted that the victim, in her statement recorded under Section 183 of B.N.S.S., has stated that she was in a consensual romantic relationship with the applicant and had accompanied him of her own volition. It is thus contended that no offence of sexual assault is made out. An undertaking has also been given that the applicant shall not misuse the liberty of bail, if granted.
4. Per contra, learned State Counsel has opposed the prayer for bail on the ground of the gravity and seriousness of the offence.
5. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material on 2026:UHC:2184 record, this Court finds that the allegations pertain to a grave and heinous offence. The victim has supported the prosecution case in her statements. Admittedly, the victim was below 15 years of age at the time of the incident; therefore, the question of consent is immaterial in the eyes of law. Considering the nature of accusations, the age of the victim, and the overall facts and circumstances, no ground for grant of bail is made out at this stage.
6. Accordingly, the bail application is rejected. However, in view of the fact that only 2 out of 11 prosecution witnesses have been examined, as submitted by learned counsel for the applicant, the trial Court is directed to take all necessary measures to expedite the proceedings and conclude the trial at the earliest, preferably within six months from the date of production of a certified copy of this order, ensuring that no unnecessary adjournments are granted to either party.
(Alok Mahra, J.) 27.03.2026 Arpan ARPAN Digitally signed by ARPAN JAISWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=eabb68a3895e41937c266c23964c0485365445e3a20dd JAISWAL db7393398f9fe45ba3e, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=060FC17022BEAE3DE215D68D9D454C5109CB987 446351E4DF04AADAA2C2CEA66, cn=ARPAN JAISWAL Date: 2026.03.27 16:32:35 +05'30' 2026:UHC:2184