Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 6: Principal District and Sessions Judge Budgam Khalil Ahmad Choudhary has denied bail to Imtiyaz Hussain Mir, son of Shabir Ahmad Mir of Pallar, Budgam, who has been booked for committing the offences under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Sections 5-354C of IPC.
After hearing Advocate M A Shah for the accused and Public Prosecutor for UT of J&K through SHO Police Station Budgam, the court observed, “jurisdiction to grant bail has to be exercised on the basis of well settled principles having regard to the circumstances of each case and not in an arbitrary manner”.
“The grant of bail is a rule and its refusal is an exception but while granting bail, the court has to be satisfied that in a given case its grant is necessary in the interest of justice”, the court said, adding “while examining a case like the present one, where the accused has made video of a minor girl when she was taking bath in her washroom, whereby her life has been ruined, it becomes the bounden duty of the court to carefully weigh and evaluate the material available”.
“The accused is alleged to have sexually assaulted the victim and going by the nature of offence and severity of the punishment, the accused does not appear to be entitled to the grant of bail. So it will not be in public interest to allow the accused to move freely and commit such offences again and again day in and day out”, the court said.
Stating that prima facie there are sufficient grounds to presume the involvement of accused in the alleged crime, the court said, “the very seriousness of the offence alleged is sufficient ground to reasonably believe that the accused may misuse his liberty by interference with the evidence that may be available in the case or repeating the offence or destroying the evidence, if possible or by absconding if tempering is not possible”.
“The offences committed by the accused are heinous in nature and if the accused is released on bail, there will be resentment in the general public. The general public will lose its confidence which it has reposed in the court of law”, the Judge said, adding “there is no sufficient material available at this stage that would enable the court to hold that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the applicant is not guilty of the offence alleged against him”.
With these observations, court rejected the bail application.
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