O R D E R

The petitioner herein is the sole accused in Crime No.329/2016 of the Ayiroor Police Station, registered under Section 354A (i) of the Indian Penal Code , Sections 7 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act , 2012 and under Section 3(1)(xi) of the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (as it stood before the amendment of 2015). The victim of offence is a girl aged 16 years. What is alleged against the petitioner herein is sexual assault at about 9 am. on 20.3.2016. It is not known whether the alleged act was committed with the knowledge that the victim belongs to schedule caste. Anyway, in view of the bar under Section 18 of the SC/ST Act, this application for pre arrest bail cannot be entertained here. The petitioner can very well approach the learned Magistrate having jurisdiction or the Special Judge as the case may be, for regular bail. What is barred under the law is only pre arrest bail. The jurisdiction of the regular court to grant regular bail in such cases is not excluded or taken away by any provision of the SC/ST Act. The petitioner relies on Annexure B copy of the complaint made by him on 19.3.2016 against the