Chattisgarh High Court
Santosh Kumar Patel vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 22 September, 2021
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH, BILASPUR
Order Sheet
CRA No. 238 of 2020
• Santosh Kumar Patel, S/o Shobhnath Patel, Aged about 20 years, R/o
Shanicharadih, Police Station- Baloda, District- Janjgir Champa (C.G.).
---- Appellant
Versus
• State of Chhattisgarh, Through- Police Station- Baloda, District- Janjgir
Champa (C.G.).
---- Respondent
22.09.2021 Mr. Arun Kochar, counsel for the Appellant.
Mr. Akash Pandey, P.L. for the State/Respondent.
Heard on I.A. No. 01/2020, an application for suspension of
sentence and grant of bail to the appellant.
By the impugned judgment dated 05.02.2020 passed in
Special Sessions Case No. 07/2019 by the Special Judge
(POCSO Act, 2012), Janjgir, District- Janjgir Champa (C.G.) the
appellant stands convicted as mentioned below:
Conviction Sentence In Default
u/S 376(2)(n) of RI for 10 years and In default of
IPC fine amount of payment of fine
Rs.5,000/-. amount additional
RI for 06 months.
Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the
appellant has been wrongly convicted by the trial Court in the
judgment without there being any sufficient evidence available on
record. He submits that from the perusal of statement of the
prosecutrix (PW-02), it appears that she was the consenting
party. With regard to age of the prosecutrix, it is further argued by
learned counsel for the appellant that there is no conclusive
evidence on the basis of which it can be established that at the
time of alleged incident the prosecutrix was below 18 years of
age. He further submits that the appellant is in jail since
05.02.2020 and during trial he was on bail and not misused the
liberty granted to him and appeal is likely to take some more time
to be finalized. Hence, it is prayed that his application may be
allowed.
On the other hand, learned counsel for the State has
opposed the bail application.
Heard both the parties.
Perused the statements of the witnesses and other
materials available on record. After going through the statement
of the prosecutrix and other evidence with regard to the age of
the prosecutrix and further considering the fact that the appellant
is in jail since 05.02.2020 and during trial he was on bail and not
misused the liberty granted to him, I am of this opinion that it will
be proper to release the appellant on bail during the pendency of
this appeal.
On execution of substantive jail sentences imposed upon
the appellant shall remain suspended during the pendency of this
appeal and he shall be released on bail on executing a personal
bond for a sum of Rs. 20,000/- with one solvent surety for the like
sum to the satisfaction of the trial Court for his appearance before
the Registry of this Court on 16.12.2021. He shall thereafter
appear before the trial Court on a date to be given by the Registry
of this Court and shall continue to appear there on all such
subsequent dates as are given to him by the said Court, till the
disposal of this appeal.
List this case for final hearing in its due course.
Sd/-
(Arvind Singh Chandel)
Judge
Vasant
