ORDER ON THE BAIL APPLICATION FILED UNDER SECTION 439(2), Cr.P.C.

The present petition is filed by the State requesting the court to cancel the bail granted to the respondent-accused by the III Additional Sessions Judge, Hassan, in Crl.Misc.145/03 on 16.12.2014 in a criminal case in Crime No.273/14 filed by Alur police station, Hassan District, for the offences punishable under Sections 506 and 376, I.P.C.

2. The allegation made against the respondent-accused is that on 12.8.2014 at 5.30 p.m., accused forcibly dragged the complainant lady to the land in Survey No.131/1 of Halebelur village in which maize crop was standing, and raped her. It is further alleged that he threatened to kill her if she were to inform about the same to anybody. It is stated that the victim lady came to Bengaluru and lodged first information 3 days after the alleged incident and the case was registered and transferred to Alur police station. After concluding investigation, charge sheet is filed for the above said offences.

3. Four months after his arrest, the accused chose to file an application under Section 439, Cr.P.C. seeking regular bail before the sessions court, Hassan, and he is enlarged on bail. The reasons assigned by the learned sessions judge are found at paragraph 10 at pages 4 and 5 of the order.

4. What is essentially argued before this court by the learned HCGP is that the sessions judge has exercised the discretion vested in him under Section 439, Cr.P.C. wrongly and that he has not looked into the seriousness of the offence alleged against the accused. It is further argued that the accused was aged 50 years and had committed rape of a girl hardly 20 years, that too, taking advantage of the lady being alone in the field, and threatening her with dire consequences. According to the learned HCGP, the allegation made against the accused is of serious nature and the punishment contemplated therefor is RI for a period of 10 years along with fine, and therefore, regular bail granted by the sessions judge is liable to be cancelled.

5. Per contra, learned counsel for the accused has submitted that the learned judge, while granting bail, has taken into consideration the delay in filing the first information, the place of lodging the complaint, conclusion of investigation and non-submission of the report by Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). It is further argued that as many as three conditions have been imposed on the accused and he has been promptly complying with all the conditions and has not violated them in any manner. He has further argued that no supervening circumstances are forthcoming to cancel bail. He has requested this court to dismiss the application filed under Section 439(2), Cr.P.C.

6. After going through the records and the arguments of the learned HCGP and learned counsel for the accused, the following point arises for the consideration of this court:

Whether valid and justifiable grounds are made out to cancel bail granted to the accused on 16.1.2014 at this stage?

REASONS

7. As could be seen from the impugned order dat4ed 16.12.2014, the allegation is that the accused who is aged 50 years forcibly took the victim girl aged 20 years to the land in which maize crop was standing and raped her and even threatened her with dire consequences to her life if she were to inform the same to anybody. Though the incident in question is stated to have taken place within the purview of Alur taluk, the victim came to Bengaluru since she is working in the city and lodged the first information after three days of the incident, on the basis of which the jurisdictional police registered a case and transferred it to Alur police station.

8. Of course investigation had been completed by the time the application seeking bail was filed by the accused before this court. The reasons assigned by the learned sessions judge to grant bail are found in paragraph 10 at page 4 of the order and it is extracted below:

’10. I have bestowed my anxious c