ORDER :

Petitioner has approached this Court invoking provisions of Section 438 Code of Criminal Procedure (in short ‘Cr.P.C.’), seeking bail in Case FIR No.86 of 2021, dated 03.12.2021, registered in Police Station Gohar, District Mandi, H.P., under Sections 376 of the Indian Penal Code (in short ‘IPC’) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as ‘POCSO Act’).

2. Status report stands filed, wherein it has been stated that on receiving information from the Medical Officer Alok from Civil Hospital Sundernagar that a 17 years old minor girl has given birth to a female child. Police rushed to the hospital and recorded statement of the girl. In her statement, victim stated that she is 17 years old and has studied up to 10th class and when she was studying in 9th class, she got acquainted with Prem Lal (petitioner), who is a Carpenter and they started love each other and petitioner used to come to meet her, and about one and a half year ago, she informed the petitioner that she had attained majority and thereafter in August, 2020 both of them on their own will, but without informing the parents, married each other and she started