HC grants bail to community leader arrested in sexual assault case | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday granted bail to a Catholic community leader from Palghar who was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor. The court noted that the case registered in 2020 pertained to incidents that allegedly occurred between 2007 and 2012 and had granted bail to the accused due to long delay in registration of FIR and lack of corroborating evidence.

The charges stemmed from the 2016 suicide of a teenage boy who, according to the prosecutor’s office, was subjected to years of sexual abuse during his school days. A suicide note attributed to the deceased and confirmed by handwriting analysis implicated several people, including the defendant. The note also alleged systematic harassment of schoolchildren aged between 12 and 14 by community leaders.

Despite the note and subsequent allegations, the FIR was registered only in 2020, following intervention by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The victim’s family claimed that the defendant’s threats and pressure delayed their efforts to seek justice. They also alleged that evidence, such as notebooks containing incriminating details, was destroyed by the defendant.

Testimony from witnesses, including a spiritual advisor, suggested that the defendant had previously caused incidents of abuse during the training period, resulting in verbal warnings but no formal action.

However, the defense, led by lawyers Satyavrat Joshi and Samay Pawar, argued that the accusations were baseless and had malicious intent. They highlighted the long gap between the alleged crimes and the filing of the complaint, as well as the lack of direct evidence linking the defendant to the victim’s suicide.

The defense emphasized that the defendant cooperated with the investigation, including undergoing polygraph and brain mapping tests, which revealed no incriminating findings. They also noted that the name of the accused was not clearly mentioned in the suicide note and no other student had come forward to verify the allegations.

Judge Anil S. Kilor granted bail to the accused due to inconsistencies in the prosecution’s narrative, including the eight-year delay in filing the FIR and the absence of concurrent complaints during or after the period of alleged abuse.

The court observed that the timeline of events did not establish a close connection between the alleged abuse and the victim’s suicide; This situation raised doubts about the applicability of Article 306 (inciting suicide) of the TMK.

While the court acknowledged the seriousness of the charges, it emphasized that bail cannot be denied solely based on the seriousness of the allegations, without concrete evidence. Judge Kilor also stated that strict conditions will be imposed to prevent possible interference in the ongoing judicial process.