Order

20/03/2025

1. An FIR bearing No. 124/2024 came to be registered on 26.09.2024, was lodged at Police Station Deshnok, District Bikaner, under Sections 137(2) and 87 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (hereinafter to be referred as “BNS”), wherein the complainant alleged that her 16-year-old sister had been kidnapped and abducted. The police traced the victim’s location in Ayodhya along with the accused.

2. Subsequently, the victim’s father filed an FIR No. 637/2024 at Police Station Nokha, District Bikaner, stating that the accused had kidnapped his 16-year-old daughter, and they were found in Ayodhya on 05.10.2024. Upon being informed by the Ayodhya police, the Deshnok police reached Ayodhya on 07.10.2024 and took custody of both the victim and the accused. The police team, comprising three constables, two males and one female, traveled with the accused and the victim by train from Ayodhya to Lucknow, then Lucknow to Jaipur, and finally Jaipur to Nokha, reaching Nokha at 10 p.m. on 09.10.2024, where they take a halt overnight at a hotel. Then on 10.10.2024 at around 8 P.M., three constables alonwith the victim and accused reached the Deshnok Police Station. The police then took the victim to Balika Sudhar Grah and she stayed there for 6-7 days and after this cooling period also, she did not put any allegations of onslaught or molestation on the accused. On 18.10.2024, she was taken home by her parents, where she revealed the entire incident.

3. During their stay in a hotel at Nokha, as per the allegations in the FIR, the police pressurized the victim to speak in favor of the accused, physically assaulted her, and subjected her to objectionable acts. It is further alleged that the police locked the victim in a room with the accused, where he raped her. The accused, with the assistance of the police, allegedly forced the victim to provide a favorable statement before the magistrate. The perusal of the FIR further reveals that as per the Police Manual, which mandates that for the interstate custody of a child victim, at least an ASI-rank officer should be present, but only constables were deployed. The BNS and Prevention of Child from Sexual Offences Act (hereinafter to be referred as “POCSO Act”) provisions were also violated, as the victim and the accused were kept together and no immediate medical examination was conducted. The police after travelling almost 1100 kms from Ayodhya to Nokha take a halt in Nokha, for over 20 hours to reach Deshnok police station, despite it being only 30-40 kms away and no explanation has been provided. No pregnancy test was performed until the victim was sent to Nari Niketan, and the police failed to record her statements under Section 183 of Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (hereinafter to be reffered as “BNSS”) before the Magistrate. Further, no statements were taken from the victim as per Section 25 and 26 of the POCSO Act. The petitioner reported the incident to the Superintendent of Police (SP) and the Nokha police station, but the latter redirected the complaint to Deshnok police station, citing that the incident is of Deshnok. The SP handed over the investigation to the Circle Officer, Nokha, but no substantial inquiry was conducted, nor was the victim’s statement recorded. Even after the incident, the accused allegedly continued to send obscene messages and abuse the victim and her family via phone and electronic media. The accused also allegedly threatened to defame the victim and her family in the village. The victim’s father further alleged that the accused, in connivance with the police, intimidated the victim and manipulated her statement before the magistrate.

4. At first, the complaint was made by the father of the victim, which was later converted into an FIR. It has also been apprised to this Court that when the victim was brought to the police station and handed over to child care, she did not make any statements regarding molestation or rape. Even when produced before the Magi