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Judgment
Dharam Chand Chaudhary, J.—Learned Additional Advocate General has placed on record the police report and the Investigating Officer, ASI Chet Ram, Police Station, State CID, Bharari, District Shimla has produced the record. Heard.
The accused-petitioner has been arrested on 29.3.2013 in a case registered against him u/s 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 66(E) and 67 of IT. Act in Police Station State CID, Bharari, district Shimla.
The allegations against him as disclosed from the record are that in the year 2007 in his shop at Saraswati Nagar, Tehsil Jubbal, District Shimla, where his wife was also running a beauty parlor in a room inside the shop premises he offered one toffee to the Prosecutrix, a school girl when she went to beauty parlor in the absence of his wife. On eating the same she felt drowsiness and taking advantage of that situation, he allegedly outraged her modesty and also took her obscene photographs. Later on he apprised her about the photographs so taken and also threatened not to disclose the same to anyone else, failing which he will hand over the photographs to her parents and neighbours. It has further been alleged that thereafter he started blackmailing her on account of these obscene photographs and repeatedly assaulted her sexually. On being fed up from such acts and conduct of the accused, without caring for his threatening, she decided to report the matter to the police.
On the complaint made by the Prosecutrix, the above said case came to be registered against the accused-petitioner. The record further reveals that during the course of investigation, the accused-petitioner is found to have taken similar type of obscene photographs of another girl. The investigation is now complete. Only the report of Forensic Science Laboratory in respect of the analysis of photographs, memory card, music player and hard disc drive of the computer taken in possession during the course of investigation, is left to be obtained. The challan against the accused-petitioner stands filed on 26.6.2013. The supplementary challan will be filed in due course on receipt of the report of Forensic Science Laboratory.
A similar application filed earlier before learned Sessions Judge, Shimla has been dismissed vide order dated 27.4.2013 annexed to this application.
Having gone through the record produced before this Court and also analyzing the rival submissions, at this stage, in the given facts and circumstances and also that when challan against the accused-petitioner stands filed in the Court and the case is likely to be committed for trial to learned Sessions Judge, Shimla, it may not be appropriate for this Court to examine the point in issue itself and rather in the changed circumstances, i.e. on filing of challan, the accused-petitioner may approach the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Shimla for the grant of bail and it is left open to the said Court to apply its mind afresh being uninfluenced by this order and take a conscious decision as to whether the accused-petitioner deserves to be released on bail or not on appreciation of the evidence placed on record with the charge-sheet. I draw support for this order from the judgment of Apex Court in Salauddin Abdulsamad Shaikh Vs. State of Maharashtra, . On this short ground alone, this application deserves dismissal, of course, without prejudice to the liberty of the accused-petitioner to first approach learned Sessions Judge, Shimla for the grant of bail and thereafter if need be, file appropriate application in this Court. For all the reasons stated hereinabove, this application fails and the same is accordingly dismissed.
Copy dasti.