Delay in trial for serious offence cannot be a ground to grant bail: HC on plea in gang rape case

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has denied bail to a man arrested for the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl in 2020, citing that mere delay in the trial for serious and grave offences cannot be a ground to grant bail.

A single bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar, in the order on April 18, said the accused was facing a serious offence, and hence, no case was made out for grant of bail on the ground of long incarceration.

A copy of the order was made available on Monday.

The bench, however, directed the sessions court to complete the trial in the case in nine months.

The accused, Somnath Gaikwad's advocate, Sana Raees Khan, had argued that he had been incarcerated since his arrest in October 2020, and there was no progress in the trial.

Even the charges against the accused persons have not been framed yet, she said.

The Hadapsar police in Pune registered a first information report (FIR) against Gaikwad in October 2020 in connection with the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl.

The court, in its order, noted that Gaikwad was facing the charge of gang rape, which is a serious offence for which an accused faces a minimum punishment of life imprisonment.

"This is a very serious case where the allegation is that the applicant (Gaikwad) is involved in committing the offence of gang rape. When the incident took place, the victim was only 15 years old. Therefore, there is no case made out for grant of bail even on the ground of long incarceration," it said.

"Mere delay in the trial pertaining to grave offences, by itself, cannot be a ground to enlarge an accused on bail, dehors the facts," the court noted.

It further said that there is no straitjacket formula in law to hold that there has been long incarceration of an undertrial.

The court also expressed shock when the victim and her father appeared before it and claimed they had no issues if the accused was granted bail.

Justice Jamdar said another important aspect for rejecting the bail plea was the conduct of the victim and her father, which raised doubts that the accused persons were influencing witnesses in the case.

The bench directed the trial court to conclude the trial expeditiously within nine months and file periodical reports every three months.

"This direction is issued as the case is of gang rape, and the accused persons are attempting to influence the victim and the witnesses and are also tampering with the evidence," the court said.