Criminal Procedure Code, 1973
Section 439—Bail—Kidnapping and rape—FIR registered under Sections 363/366/376/506 of IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act—At the time of incident, the victim/prosecutrix was aged around 17 years and applicant was aged around 25 years—Though there is no consent in law, there was no force or coercion applied on the victim/prosecutrix either—Fact that the applicant and the victim/prosecutrix intended to marry each other is also reflected from the FIR registered at the instance of the father of the victim/prosecutrix—Status report does not mention any incident of any threat at the instance of applicant to the victim/prosecutrix or her family members—Investigation is complete and charge-sheet stands filed—Applicant is in judicial custody for last more than two years and is not required for any further investigation—Bail granted.
[Paras 14 to 21]
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
Section 29 and Section 94 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015—Presumption and determination of age of victim/prosecutrix—Submission that age of victim/prosecutrix should be taken as per her Aadhar Card and PAN card—Rejected—Matriculation certificate should be considered to determine the age of victim/prosecutrix—At the time of incident, the victim/prosecutrix was aged around 17 years as per matriculation certificate—Section 29 of the POCSO Act would require consideration.
[Paras 12 & 13]