After Minor Victim Did Not Support Prosecution And Consented To Accused’s Bail, Chhattisgarh HC Grants Bail In POCSO Case

In brief

The question

1. Whether the applicant should be granted regular bail under Section 483 of the BNSS, having regard to the victim’s trial testimony, the stage of investigation and trial, and the other circumstances relied upon by the parties.

The court held

The Court allowed the regular-bail application.

It also directed

It directed that the applicant be released upon executing a personal bond of ₹50,000 with one surety for the like sum, subject to conditions prohibiting interference with witnesses or the fairness of the trial and requiring attendance at every trial-court date.

The trial court was directed to decide the case on its own merits.

01Facts

The applicant sought regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in connection with Crime No. 82/2026, registered for offences under Sections 332(b) and 64(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Sections 4 and 5(L)/6 of the POCSO Act.

¶ 1

The prosecution alleged that the applicant trespassed into the victim’s house during the night of 1–2 June 2026 and sexually assaulted her.

¶ 2

The applicant submitted that the victim had been examined at trial and did not support the prosecution, that the relationship was consensual, and that the charge-sheet had been filed, he had no criminal antecedents, and trial would take time.

¶ 3

The State opposed bail, contending that the victim was a minor and that consent was therefore irrelevant.

¶ 4

The victim appeared by video conference and expressed consent to the grant of bail.

¶ 5

The order records that the applicant had been in custody since 13 October 2025.

¶ 3

02Issues

i.1. Whether the applicant should be granted regular bail under Section 483 of the BNSS, having regard to the victim’s trial testimony, the stage of investigation and trial, and the other circumstances relied upon by the parties.

¶ 3–7

ii.2. Whether the victim’s stated consent to bail, together with her failure to support the prosecution at trial, was relevant to the bail decision despite the State’s submission that she was a minor.

¶ 4–7

03Law Applied

Section 483 of the BNSS, 2023, was the statutory basis for the application for regular bail.

¶ 1

The applicant was charged under Sections 332(b) and 64(1) of the BNS and Sections 4 and 5(L)/6 of the POCSO Act.

¶ 1

The Court identified no precedent or separate substantive legal test in its reasoning; it assessed the bail application by reference to the circumstances on the record, including the victim’s evidence, the filing of the charge-sheet, the applicant’s antecedents, and his custody.

¶ 7

Provisions in the judgment · 6 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 Section 483

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Section 332 Section 64

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6

04Reasoning

The Court considered that the victim had already testified at trial and had not supported the prosecution, and that she had also consented to the applicant’s release on bail.

¶ 5, 7

It further relied on the filing of the charge-sheet, the absence of criminal antecedents, and the applicant’s stated period in custody, and concluded that these circumstances made the case fit for regular bail.

¶ 7

The Court granted bail without expressing any view on the merits of the case.

¶ 7