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Gauhati High Court dismissed the accused's bail application granted by a Special POCSO court...
Digital Desk: The Gauhati High Court took suo motu cognizance on Friday of a complaint of sexual abuse of 21 students aged 6 to 12 years by the dormitory warden of an Arunachal Pradesh residential school.
The Gauhati High Court, shocked by the granting of release to a hostel warden accused of sexually assaulting 21 children in Arunachal Pradesh, overturned the bail application granted by a Special POCSO court.
Yumken Bagra, dormitory warden of Government Residential School, Karo village, Monigong in Shi-Yomi district, was granted bail after being accused of sexually assaulting 21 children aged 6 to 12 years between 2019 and 2022.
The accused was granted bail by the special court on February 23, 2023, after being charged under Sections 10/12/14/(1)/15(1)/2 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 for allegedly perpetrating sexual assault on 21 children.
While registering suo moto cancellation of the bail motion, Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, Justice Sandeep Mehta, ordered that the matter be listed for July 27.
"A perusal of the record reveals that the victims (21 in total) were all less than 15 years of age when the dastardly act of sexual assault by a person in authority, i.e. the Hostel Warden accused herein, was committed upon them," the HC stated.
"A review of the charge sheet, which includes a brief reference to the victims' comments, reveals that the accused Warden forced the children sleeping as boarders in the Hostel to watch pornographic films and subjected them to sexual abuse on multiple occasions. The medical records of the majority of the victims confirm that they were sexually attacked, as marks of violence were discovered in their private areas." the HC further added.
"Because the offence under Section 376AB of the IPC has also been applied in this case, it is mandatory to ensure the presence of the informant or any person authorised by him at the time of the application for bail hearing." However, a review of the bail ruling dated 23.02.2023 reveals that the Special Court acted in flagrant violation of this mandatory condition," the HC added.
The Special Public Prosecutor, Arunachal Pradesh rejected the bail application on the ground that “releasing the accused on bail would prejudice the prosecution case as the accused holds the capacity to influence the witnesses and tamper the evidence, which was yet to be recorded.”
“However, the Special Court, without giving due consideration to these substantial objections of the learned Special Public Prosecutor, Arunachal Pradesh, granted bail to the accused in a casual manner despite observing the statements of the victims reveal a grave offence having been committed but the trial was yet to begin due to non-appearance of the co-accused Daniel Pertin,” it said.
"The Special Court designated flimsy reasons for granting bail to the accused, who was entrusted with the duty of ensuring the safety of the children lodged in the Hostel, acted in a demonic manner and sexually assaulted the young children for almost 3(three) years and also exposed them to pornographic material."
The trial of an accused charged with such significant offences does not need to wait for the arrest of the absconding accused, and procedures can even be resumed by dividing the trials," ruled the HC, while ordering that the accused be served with notice of the bail cancellation proceedings.
"The conscience of the Court has been shaken by the cavalier manner in which a case of such grave magnitude and sensitive nature has been dealt with by granting bail to the main accused without assigning any plausible reasons," the HC stated.
"The Court is concerned about the protection of the victims of the heinous act of sexual assault once the accused has been released on bail," he added.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice thought that "there is an urgent need to sensitise the Special Judges posted in the POCSO Courts across the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Assam."
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