212 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRM-M-3610-2025 Date of decision: 06.02.2025 BALWINDER ALIAS PALVINDER ...Petitioner(s)

VERSUS STATE OF HARYANA AND ANOTHER ...Respondent(s)

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASGURPREET SINGH PURI Present:- Mr. S. S. Bairagi, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Vishal Kashyap, DAG, Haryana.

****

JASGURPREET SINGH PURI, J. (Oral)

1. The present petition has been filed under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023 read with Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023 for the grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioners in FIR No.273 dated 17.12.2024, under Section 8 of the POCSO Act and Sections 126 and 351(2) of BNS, 2023, registered at Police Station Jathlana, District Yamuna Nagar, Haryana.

2. On the last date of hearing i.e. 22.01.2025, notice of motion was issued and in pursuance thereof, reply by way of an affidavit of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Radaur dated 30.01.2025 has been filed on behalf of the State of Haryana and the same is taken on record.

3. A copy of the aforesaid reply has already been supplied to the learned counsel for the petitioner, who has stated that he has gone through the same.

4. The present FIR came to be lodged under Section 8 of the POCSO Act and Sections 126 and 351(2) of BNS, 2023 on the basis of a complaint made by the mother of the minor girl by alleging that her daughter is of the age of 16 years and is studying in 12^th standard in a Government School and after school she goes for tution and comes back to the village daily on cycle. On the day of occurrence when her daughter was coming back from the tution at around 05:30 P.M., the petitioner was already standing near a sugarcane centre with his bike parked on the side and he blocked her daughter’s way and then pushed her down from the cycle and by putting a knife on her neck took her to the side of the road and started molesting her and at that point of time, one Naresh Kumar, who is the family member of the complainant was passing by and he recognized her daughter and challenged the petitioner, who thereafter ran away on seeing him. Further allegations made by the complainant were that the petitioner threatened to kill her daughter and thereafter, sat on his bike which was already parked there and ran away from the spot.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that it is a case where false allegations were levelled against the petitioner, who is also having mental illness and is being treated in hospital for a long time and referred to Annexure P-3 and Annexure P-4 in this regard. He further submitted that no such occurrence had taken place and it was a case of a small accident only due to which the daughter of the complainant fell down from the cycle and rather she slapped the petitioner and the aforesaid story was concocted by the complainant which was told to the police and consequent upon the same, the present FIR was lodged. He also submitted that even when the statement of the aforesaid minor girl was recorded before the learned Magistrate under Section 164 Cr.P.C., there was no specific allegation of molestation and therefore, the petitioner may be considered for the grant of anticipatory bail.

5. On the other hand, Mr. Vishal Kashyap, DAG, Haryana while referring to the aforesaid reply filed on behalf of State of Haryana submitted that so far as the argument which has been raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the minor girl did not specifically alleged molestation at the time of recording the statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C. is concerned, the same is false in view of the fact that rather the aforesaid statement has been attached alongwith the aforesaid reply filed on behalf of State of Haryana, wherein she has stated that the petitioner was already standing when she was coming back after taking tution and he pushed her from the cycle, whereby she fell down on the side of the road and he was having a knife in his hand and he had put the same on her neck and thereafter, dragged her into