IMPORTANT POINT
The status of the accused as an absconder and the evidence against him are relevant factors in determining the grant of pre-arrest bail.

JUDGMENT

1. Heard Md. I. Hussain, learned counsel for the petitioner who has submitted that this application under Section 438 Cr.P.C. has been filed before this Court with a prayer for grant of pre-arrest bail to the petitioner.

2. Before hearing the parties, this Court has called for the relevant case record and on perusal of the same, it is seen that an FIR was lodged before the Officer-in-Charge, Wage Asi OGC, North Garo Hills by the father of the alleged victim girl who is said to be a minor of 15 years of age informing the police that one person from Assam named Sahinur Ali of Village Simlabari P.S. Lakhipur had eloped with his minor daughter on 23.12.2020 and all efforts to trace his daughter proved futile. Hence, the FIR.

3. The police on receipt of the said FIR had accordingly registered a case being Women P.S. Case No. 03 (01) of 2021 under Section 366 (A) IPC and investigation was launched.

4. In course of investigation, the police came to know that the minor daughter of the informant and the accused are having a love affair and that the said minor girl was staying with the family of the said accused. Accordingly, the police team went to the house of the accused at Simlabari and rescued the minor girl from the house of the accused where she was brought back to her parent's house.

5. The I/O has also made repeated attempt to arrest the accused confirmed as the petitioner herein, but every attempt to apprehend him failed. Eventually, the accused/petitioner was declared an absconder and a lookout notice was issued against him.

6. In the meantime, the I/O had recorded the statement of the alleged victim as well as other witnesses and on the conclusion of investigation, prima facie evidence have been found well established against the absconding accused/petitioner under Section 366 (A)/344/376(3) IPC read with Section 3 (a)/4 POCSO Act.

7. The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner has no knowledge of the case against him and it was only when the police came a number of times to his house to search for him was he made aware of the said case. Accordingly, on 01.06.2022 the petitioner had applied for certified copies of the relevant documents from the Court of the learned Special Judge (POCSO), Resubelpara and on receipt of the said certified copies on 21.06.2022 he was confirmed of the proceedings against him.

8. The learned counsel has further submitted that the allegation made in the FIR is factually incorrect since the alleged victim girl was in love with him and out of this relationship, they have decided to get married and to stay together as husband and wife, therefore to say that he has kidnapped or abducted the alleged victim girl is not correct.

9. As regard the age of the alleged victim, the petitioner has submitted that the girl has informed him that she was 22 years old at the time of their relationship with her date of birth being 21.03.1998 as seen from the certificate issued by the Secretary, Upper Jambal Anganwadi Centre P.O. Gairong, North Garo Hills (Annexure-2 to the application).

10. Since the petitioner has been implicated in the case which is registered as Special POCSO Case No. 5 of 2022 under Section 376 (3) IPC read with Section 3(a)/4 POCSO Act, for which Non Bailable Warrant of Arrest was issued against him, therefore being highly apprehensive of imminent arrest, the petitioner has accordingly approached this Court.

11. The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner ought to be allowed to present his defence in an atmosphere free from apprehension and the shackles of custodial detention. In this regard, the case of Sanjay Chandra v. Central Bureau of Investigation: (2012) 1 SCC 40, para 21 & 22 was referred to in support of his case.

'21. In bail applications, generally, it has been laid down from the earliest times that the object of bail is to secure the appearance of the accused person at his trial by reasonable amount of bail. The object of bail is