The Meghalaya High Court has held that granting bail to an accused in POCSO Case on 'humanitarian grounds' isn't legally tenable.

The single-Judge Bench of Justice W Diengdoh stated that the nature of offence in POCSO Cases is grave and serious and therefore Courts can't grant bail on such a ground even while exercising its discretionary power unless there is an extraordinary circumstance.

"In bail jurisprudence the concept of granting bail on humanitarian ground is not so prevalent and the same is not legally tenable which also renders the impugned order passed on this account to fail the scrutiny of law."

The petitioner herein was seeking to set aside the bail granted to an accused who had allegedly kidnapped, raped and killed a minor. The bail was granted by a Special POCSO Judge on humanitarian and medical grounds without considering the gravity and nature of the offence.

The accused was charged under Sections 364, 302, 201 of the IPC as well as Section 3(a), 4, 11(iv), 12 of the POCSO Act.

The Counsel for Petitioner submitted that the Special Judge lacked application of mind while passing the interim order and had issued the order in a "mechanical manner". It was further pointed out that the granting bail on health grounds was untenable as the Jail Superintendent had affirmed that the accused had been receiving the necessary medical facilities while in custody. It was also contended that the accused resides next door to the family of the deceased victim and would thus have easy access to the witnesses and could thus influence or threaten witnesses.

Reliance was placed on Section 29 of the POCSO Act which mandates that Courts are required to presume the guilt of the accused until proven otherwise.

The Court while setting aside the impugned order accepted the contention and observed that the said order was passed without due application of mind and the discretionary power was not exercised judiciously.

Further stressing on improvement of jail infrastructure and facilities, the Court opined:

"There is no extraordinary circumstances which would endanger the life of the Respondent/accused if bail is withheld, inasmuch as, the jail authorities are duty bound to ensure that proper medical treatment is afforded to the inmates, and there are also adequate number of treatment centres and hospitals where the Respondent/accused could be referred for treatment under custody"

 Read Order Here:

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Sheetal Joon