SRINAGAR: A court in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district has granted bail to an accused booked under various serious charges, including offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, after observing that key prosecution witnesses failed to strongly support the case against the accused.
Principal Sessions Judge Kulgam, Aijaz Ahmad Khan, while passing the order, noted that the prosecutrix and her mother had already been examined during the trial and their statements did not substantially incriminate the accused.
The court observed that the accused had remained in judicial custody for more than a year and the trial was progressing slowly, with only a limited number of witnesses examined so far. It further said that since the statements of material witnesses had already been recorded, the possibility of tampering with evidence had considerably reduced.
While acknowledging the gravity and sensitivity of offences under the POCSO Act, the court said bail cannot be rejected solely on the seriousness of allegations and must be decided on established legal principles, including the likelihood of witness influence, risk of absconding, and the stage of the trial.
The court also imposed strict conditions on the accused while granting bail. These include a complete restriction on contacting the victim or her family, prohibition from entering the locality of the victim, a ban on leaving the Union Territory without prior permission of the court, and mandatory appearance before the trial court on every date of hearing.
The accused was represented by Advocates Umer Nazir and Owais Qadir, while the Union Territory was represented by Public Prosecutor Rafi Ahmad Mir.(KNC)
