SC cancels bail to accused in minor's gangrape case

The Supreme Court has set aside an Allahabad High Court order granting bail to two men accused of kidnapping and gangraping a 14 year-old minor and directed them to surrender before the trial court on or before December 30.

While cancelling the bail of accused, Khargesh and Karan, a Bench headed by Justice Bela M Trivedi expressed displeasure for not making the survivor a party during the hearing on their bail plea.

The order came on a petition filed by the survivor seeking cancellation of the bail granted to the accused by the Allahabad High Court.

Earlier, the trial court had on September 13, 2021 dismissed the bail plea of one of the accused on the ground that the survivor's supported the case in her statement.

"It appears that the respondents concerned (accused) had not impleaded the present appellant as the party respondent in the bail proceedings filed by them before the high court, and the public prosecutor concerned also had not informed the appellant victim about the said proceedings,” the top court said, pointing out that neither the accused nor the public prosecutor nor the Allahabad HC informed the minor survivor about the bail hearing.

"In the instant case, there is gross violation of the said statutory provisions contained in Section 439(1A) of CrPC and Section 15A(3) of the SC/ST Act at the instance of the respondents," it noted.

The Bench said the presence of the survivor or any person authorised by him or her was obligatory at the time of hearing of the application for bail to the person in cases related to rape and gangrape.

"Similarly, it is also mandatory on the part of the special public prosecutor of the state government to inform the victim about the court proceedings, including bail proceedings as contemplated in sub-section (3) of Section 15A of the SC/ST Act,” it said.

The minor had known the accused persons, who were her neighbours, for a long time and on July 27, 2021, one of them, Karan, forced her to meet near a temple on the pretext of going to a park.

Three other accused persons later came in a car and took her to a flat, where they took turns to rape her when she tried to raise an alarm, it was alleged.