Vijay Kumar vs State of Punjab

Gurdev Singh, J.—Heard.

The petitioner/accused-Vijay Kumar son of Shri Ashok Kumar, has filed this petition u/s 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code for releasing him on bail for the offences under Sections 376 and 450 IPC, in respect of which FIR No. 82 dated 22.5.2011 was registered in Police Station City Abohar, District Ferozepur, and for which he is standing his trial before the Sessions Judge, Ferozepur. This petition has been pressed on the ground that the prosecutrix has not supported the prosecution version in the Court and, according to her, she was major having three children and had been residing with the accused of her free will.

The petition has been opposed by the learned State counsel on the ground that the prosecution case has been fully supported by Amarjit Kaur (PW-5) to whom the occurrence was narrated by the prosecutrix immediately after the same had taken place.

Copies of the statements of the prosecutrix (PW-1) and Amarjit Crl. Kaur (PW-5), which have been recorded by the trial court, have been annexed with the present petition as Annexures P/1 and P/3 respectively. A perusal thereof shows that the prosecutrix did not support the prosecution case and, according to her, she accepted the proposal of the accused to contract marriage with him and on the date of occurrence, it was she who had called him at the house of her sister at Abohar and that he did not commit any forcible act with her. According to Amarjit Kaur (PW-5), the occurrence was narrated to her by the prosecutrix herself. She stated that the prosecutrix told her that she was subjected to sexual intercourse by the accused. Even she did not state that the prosecutrix had told that it was forcible sexual intercourse. Admittedly, the prosecutrix is a grown up woman, having three children and according to her there was no such forcible sexual intercourse.

In these circumstances and without expressing opinion on the merit of the case, this petition is hereby accepted and the petitioner is ordered to be released on bail to the satisfaction of the trial court, subject to the following conditions:

(i) He shall not offer any threat, promise or inducement to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing the same to the Investigating Officer/Court; and

(ii)He shall not leave the limits of this country without prior permission of the Court.

The petition is disposed of accordingly.