Granting bail to a 20-year-old man arrested in August 2023 for allegedly raping his minor cousin sister, the Bombay High Court observed that there was a “possibility that he will be remorseful and repent in retrospect”.
The court also noted that considering bail applicant’s young age, it was hopeful that his family will “undoubtedly do their duty to make every effort and attempt to reform and aid the applicant in leading a reformed life while on bail rather than keep him in prison and expose him to criminal outlook and life in prison”.
A single-judge bench of Justice Milind N Jadhav passed the order on February 7, copy of which was made available on Tuesday.
As per Mumbai police, the victim, an orphan, was living in the house of the applicant’s parents in the city and she was sexually assaulted in April and May 2023 on multiple occasions.
However, the accused, through advocate Rahul A Siddiqui, claimed the two had a consensual relationship and submitted that his further incarceration at the young age would lead him onto “the criminal path”.
The bench noted that it was unanswered as to why the victim, who was regularly attending her Class 10 tuition classes, remained silent between April 2023 and August that year when the FIR was registered.
The court observed that the victim girl’s disadvantaged background as an orphan had exposed her to “vagaries of the situation” in the present case. On the other hand, it said, there was a chance of the applicant being remorseful if released on bail.
Story continues below this ad
“This is a chance required to be taken by the court because punishment has to be believed to be inflicted for a reformative result rather than being punitive in nature,” the HC observed.
The HC said that while the punishment for the offence will be decided during the trial, it felt that “reform and rehabilitation of the under trial accused needs to be considered,” especially when the accused is of young age.