$~6 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of decision: 21.02.2025 + BAIL APPLN. 4360/2024 & CRL.M.A. 5776/2025 AKASH .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Rajiv Takbi, Mr. Prerit Shukla and Mr. Harsh Vardhan, Advocates versus STATE GOVT. OF NCT DELHI .....Respondent Through: Ms. Richa Dhawan, APP for State along with SI Muskan, PS: Jahangir Puri %

CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA

O R D E R

MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA, J (ORAL):

1. The present application has been filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (‘BNSS’) seeking grant of Regular Bail to the accused/Applicant in the FIR No. 205/2019 dated 12.04.2019 registered at P.S. Jahangir Puri under sections 363/376/506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO).

2. The brief facts leading to the registration of the FIR set out in the charge-sheet are as follows: A woman Sub-Inspector (SI) from P.S. Bhalswa Dairy arrived at P.S. Jahangir Puri on 12.04.2019 and submitted a Tehrir (written complaint) along with the victim’s statement, MLC No. 170467/19 from BJRM Hospital, and MLC No. 1464/19 from BSA Hospital. She informed that a missing girl aged 07 years, found as per DD No. 53B, had Signature Not Verified been abducted from her home and sexually assaulted in an area under the jurisdiction of P.S. Jahangir Puri.

3. It is stated that in the victim's statement, recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), she reported that on 11.04.2019, on the day of the incident, she was playing outside her house when an unknown boy approached her around 4:30 PM. The boy informed the victim that her mother had asked him to bring her home. On this pretext, the boy took the victim to a deep forest near the Bhalswa lake to an isolated location, where he forcibly removed her clothes and raped her. After the assault, the perpetrator abandoned the victim near Bhalswa Lake, where she was found by a PCR vehicle. The victim was then taken to P.S. Bhalswa Dairy, where her parents were also called, and later, she was taken to a hospital for medical examination.

4. It is stated that based on the victim’s statement and MLC records, P.S. Jahangir Puri registered the subject FIR. During the investigation, CCTV footage was reviewed, and in one of the videos, the victim was seen walking with a boy who was later identified as the Applicant/Akash. Upon interrogation, the Applicant confessed to the crime. Subsequently, Applicant was arrested on 13.04.2019 and sent for medical examination at BJRM Hospital.

5. It is stated that on 20.04.2019, the victim was produced before the Trial Court, where her statement under Section 164 CrPC was recorded. Her statement remained consistent with her earlier statement under Section 161 CrPC. The testimony of the victim was also recorded before the Trial Court on 04.09.2019 during prosecution evidence. In her testimony the victim stated that she can recognize the accused and thereafter she identified Signature Not Verified accused Akash on the video screen; at that time accused Akash was present in the Court in a room which had a one-way viewing glass in between.

Arguments of the Applicant

6. Learned counsel for the Applicant submits that the proceedings before the Trial Court have been prolonged, and the Applicant has been in custody as an undertrial since 13.04.2019. It is further stated that the trial is currently at the stage of defence evidence, and keeping the Applicant in custody at this stage serves no meaningful purpose. Therefore, the continued detention of the Applicant as an undertrial violates his fundamental right to liberty, as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

7. He states that the observations made by the Trial Court with respect to the matching of DNA of the Applicant with the DNA collected from the cervical and vaginal swabs of the victim, in the order dated 14.12.2022 while rejecting the bail of the Applic