Ashok Agrawal vs State Of Chhattisgarh

The appellant has preferred this Criminal Appeal under Section 14-A(2) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (in short “the SC/ST Act”) for setting aside of order dated 20/08/2026 passed by the Special Judge SC/ST Act (Atrocities), Raigarh whereby the regular bail application filed by the appellant under Section 483 of BNSS in connection with Crime No. 104/2026 registered at Police Station -Baramkela, District Sarangarh (C.G.) for commission of offence punishable under Sections 75(2), 75(3), 78(2), 79, 296, 351(3) of BNS and Section 3(2)(v-a) of the SC/ST Act, 1989 has been rejected.

Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 01/08/2026, complainant/victim, who is a member of Scheduled Caste community, lodged a report at Police Station Baramkela that on 31/07/2026 at about 5 PM, the appellant followed the victim and finding her alone near the staircase of a rented house, caught hold of her and made obscene remarks and gestures intending to outrage her modesty and when she resisted, the appellant allegedly threatened to kill her and thereafter, fled from the spot. On the basis of the said report, the aforesaid offences were registered against the appellant.

Mr. Rajendra Tripathi, learned counsel appearing for the appellant, would contend that the appellant is innocent and he has falsely been implicated in the offence in question. He would further submit that though 11 cases were registered against the appellant between 2009-2023 under preventive measures, but all those cases have been disposed of in accordance with law and there is no live criminal antecedent of the appellant. It is also contended that investigation has already been completed and charge-sheet has been filed and moreover, the appellant is in jail since 07/08/2026 and conclusion of trial will likely take some time, therefore, the appellant be released on bail. With regard to the offence punishable under Section 3(2)(v-a) of the SC/ST Act, 1989, he would submit that there is no issue of social status of the victim and there is no such allegation in the FIR as well.

On the other hand, Mr. Dharmesh Shrivastava, learned counsel appearing for the non-applicant/State, opposes the criminal appeal and the submission made by learned counsel for the appellant. He would submit that the appellant knew very well that the victim belonged to Scheduled Caste community and yet he made obscene gestures and remarks intending to outrage the modesty of the victim. Thus, he would submit that the appeal deserves to be dismissed.

The victim appeared before this Court through video conferencing from the concerned DLSA on 06/10/2026 and raised objection in grant of bail to the appellant.

I have heard learned counsel for the parties, perused the case diary and went through the material available on record.

Having considered the allegations made against the appellant and further considering that charge-sheet has been filed and appellant is in jail since 07/08/2026 and conclusion of trial will likely take some time, and considering that 11 cases registered against the appellant under preventive measures have already been disposed of, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this Court finds it appropriate to grant bail to the appellant.

Accordingly, the instant appeal is allowed and the order dated 20/08/2026 passed by the learned Special Judge, SC/ST Act (Atrocities), Raigarh is hereby set-aside. The Appellant – Ashok Agrawal be released on bail on furnishing personal bond with two sureties in the like sum to the satisfaction of the Court concerned with the following conditions:-

However, this Court hopes and trust that the trial Court should make an earnest endeavour to conclude the trial as expeditiously as possible.

Office is directed to send a certified copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance.