In case accused charged under POCSO, SC/ST acts, bail plea to be decided by POCSO court: HC

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that in a case where the accused has been charged under both under the POCSO Act and SC/ST Act, the bail application will be decided by the special POCSO court.

Justice JJ Munir on Monday also held that in case a special POCSO court passes an order declining bail to the accused charged under both the acts, an application under section 439 of the CrPC would alone be maintainable before the high court.

The court passed the order while hearing a bail plea filed by a man accused of rape where the government counsel raised a preliminary objection that as the accused is charged under both the acts, therefore bail application under section 439 of the CrPC was not maintainable.

The applicant was required to file an appeal under section 14 A of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities ) Act, the counsel contended.

The judge held that the bail application of Rinku, accused of raping a girl of Scheduled Caste community, is maintainable.

It fixed February 22 as the next date of hearing to decide on merit the accused's bail plea.

Rinku was accused of raping the girl along with his friends on July 7, 2017.

Police had allegedly refused to lodge an FIR on a complaint of the victim's mother. They registered it only after an order of the chief judicial magistrate on August 26, 2017.

The accused claimed that he was falsely framed in the case and said that even in the past seven false cases had been filed against him on complaints of the victim's family.