Bail App. No. 139 of 2020
Badri Nath v. Union Territory of J&K
Decided on: December 11, 2020
The presumption of guilt engrafted in sec 29 of POCSO Act gets triggered and applies only once trial begins, that is after charges are framed against the accused and not before that. But at the time of considering bail application of accused under sec 3, 5, 7 & 9 of POCSO Act, the presumption under sec 29 of the said Act would come into play at the pre-trial stage.
It is necessary for all the Special Courts constituted under the POCSO Act within the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, to ensure that the victim/Child Welfare Committee is informed about the proceedings in bail petitions of the persons accused of having committed offences under the aforesaid Act by issuing prior notice to them.
Rejection of bail application by an inferior court does not operate as a bar for the superior court in entertaining similar application on same facts and same offence.