The court confirmed that the prohibition on pre-arrest bail under the SC/ST Act does not preclude the option for regular bail applications.

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 victim's father and her paternal uncle. The incident in this case happened on 20.3.2016. Annexure B complaint was filed by the petitioner on 19.3.2016. There is some substance in the submission made by the learned counsel that the present complaint is a counter blast to the earlier complaint made by the petitioner against the victim's father and his brother. Anyway, let the factual aspects regarding the genuineness of the complaint be looked into and examined by the learned Magistrate or the learned Special Judge. It is well settled that even in cases where the essentials of the offence alleged under the SC/ST Act are there, the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class can grant bail if the accused deserves bail. Anyway, it appears that there is something suspicious. Let appropriate decision be taken by the appropriate court on the request for regular bail.

In the result, this application for pre arrest bail is disposed of, giving liberty to the petitioner to approach the learned Magistrate having jurisdiction or the learned Special Judge as the case may be, for regular bail, and also with direction to the concerned court that appropriate decisions shall be judiciously taken on the request for regular bail, having in mind the facts discussed above.