Ankit Kumar Thakur @ Ankit Kumar v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.62245 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-307 Year-2023 Thana- GOVINDGANJ District- East Champaran ====================================================== Ankit Kumar Thakur @ Ankit Kumar, Son of Jai Prakash Thakur Resident of Village- Harsidhi Pakariya, P.S. - Harsidhi, District - East Champaran, Motihari ... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1.
The State of Bihar 2.
Jawahar Thakur, Son of Late Baleshwar Thakur Resident of Village - Barwa, P.S. - O.P. Areraj, District - East Champaran ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr.Deovind Kumar Singh For the Opposite Party/s :
Mr.Narendra Kumar Singh ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 16-12-2024
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned APP for the State.
2. The petitioner seeks bail in anticipation of his arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under Sections 363, 366(A)/ 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 8 of the POCSO Act.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and has been falsely implicated in the instant case by the informant. It is next submitted that petitioner and the victim were in love and they eloped. It is further submitted that the victim has come back and her statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. has been recorded
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.62245 of 2024(4) dt.16-12-2024 2/3 wherein she has disclosed her age as 20 years. It is also submitted that the learned Magistrate assessed the age of the victim as 19 years while medical board assessed her in between 17 1⁄2 and 18 1⁄2 years. It is next submitted that the victim in her statement recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C. has not supported the case of the prosecution rather has stated that she performed marriage with the petitioner and thereafter, they went to Nepal and returned on 18.06.2023. It is next submitted that the aforesaid facts stands recorded in the order impugned.
4. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail application and submits that the impugned order also records that as per school certificate of the victim her date of birth is recorded as 02.06.2008, as such, on the date of occurrence, she was 14 years, 11 month and 19 days.
5. Th the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner rebuts the said submission of the learned A.P.P. and submits that the victim herself has disclosed her age as 20 years. The learned Magistrate assessed her age as 19 years, the medical board assessed the age of the victim in between 17 1⁄2 and 18 1⁄2 years and as far as school certificate is concerned, the same is not matriculation certificate, as such, is not a document to be relied for determination of age in terms of Section 94 of
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.62245 of 2024(4) dt.16-12-2024 3/3 the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
6. Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner, above-named, in the event of his arrest or surrender before the learned Court below within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on bail on his furnishing bail-bonds in the sum of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned 6th Additional Sessions Judge-cumSpecial Judge POCSO, Motihari, East Champaran in connection with Govindganj (Areraj) P. S. Case No.307 of 2023, subject to the conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.
7. The application stands allowed.
(Satyavrat Verma, J) vikash/- U T