Chhattisgarh HC Grants Bail To Juvenile Accused Of Attempting Sexual Assault On 6-Year-Old, Citing First Conflict With Law, Good Conduct

The juvenile applicant was accused of attempting to sexually assault a six-year-old child and threatening to kill her. An FIR was registered under Sections 65(2), 62, 333 and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Sections 4, 4(2), 5(m), 6 and 18 of the POCSO Act; the charge-sheet was filed before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

The JJB rejected the applicant’s bail application under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), and the appellate court upheld that decision.

The applicant, who had been in an observation home since 11 March 2026, challenged both orders in revision under Section 102 of the JJ Act.

Section 12 of the JJ Act governs bail for a child alleged to be in conflict with law: release is the statutory approach, subject to the specified grounds for refusal—where release is likely to bring the child into association with a known criminal, expose the child to moral, physical or psychological danger, or defeat the ends of justice.

Section 102 of the JJ Act provides for revision before the High Court.

The Court also considered the applicant’s social-status report, conduct in the observation home, and circumstances as a student and first-time child in conflict with law when assessing the bail question.

The Court noted that the applicant had been in the observation home since 11 March 2026 and that the charge-sheet had already been filed.

The social-status report indicated that this was his first conflict with law, that he was a Class 7 student, and that his conduct in the observation home was good.

Although the victim’s family opposed bail and the State relied on the seriousness of the allegation, the State acknowledged that the social-status report was not negative.

The Court found no material showing that release would create any of the risks relevant under Section 12 of the JJ Act, and concluded that the refusal orders should not stand.

It directed that the applicant be released into the custody of his mother or father upon the parent furnishing a bail bond of ₹25,000, together with one surety for the same amount, to the satisfaction of the JJB, for the applicant’s appearance as directed.