Ravi Vs State of U.P. and 3 Others — Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) | Allahabad HC (2026)

Ravi Vs State of U.P. and 3 Others — Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) | Allahabad HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Applicant Ravi to be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties to the satisfaction of the court concerned, subject to verification of sureties, with conditions that he shall not tamper with evidence or intimidate witnesses and shall appear before the trial court as required; breach of any condition shall entail cancellation of bail; the observations shall not affect the trial on merits.

Issue for consideration

Whether the applicant is entitled to bail in Case Crime No. 62 of 2025 under Sections 137(2), 87, 64 of BNS and Sections 3/4 of POCSO Act during the pendency of trial. +2 more

Court's answer

There is no medical evidence on record to corroborate the alleged incident.

Ratio / Principle

The statement of the victim recorded under Section 183 BNSS prima facie indicates her consent, as she had accompanied the applicant all the way to Rajasthan from her native place Etawah without raising any alarm.

Key takeaways

The school progress report showing the victim as 17 years old on the date of the incident cannot be relied upon in view of Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, and there is no other valid document on record to establish that the victim was a minor at the relevant time.ratio¶12
In light of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in P. Yuvaprakash vs. State Rep. by Inspector of Police (AIR 2023 SC 3525), only a matriculation or equivalent certificate, or a certificate issued by a municipal authority or Panchayat, can be relied upon for determination of age in the absence of birth records.ratio¶15

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Bail granted — Case Crime No. 62 of 2025, Police Station Friends Colony, District Etawah, under Sections 137(2), 87, 64 of BNS and Sections 3/4 of POCSO Act — applicant Ravi sought bail during the pendency of trial — statement of the victim recorded u/s 183 BNSS prima facie indicates her consent, she having accompanied the applicant all the way to Rajasthan from her native place Etawah without raising any alarm — school progress report showing the victim as 17 years old cannot be relied upon in view of Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act and there is no other valid document on record establishing minority — in light of P. Yuvaprakash vs. State Rep. by Inspector of Police (AIR 2023 SC 3525), only a matriculation or equivalent certificate, or a certificate issued by a municipal authority or Panchayat, can be relied upon for determination of age in the absence of birth records — no medical evidence on record to corroborate the alleged incident — without expressing any opinion on the merits, prima facie case for bail made out — applicant released on personal bond and two sureties with conditions not to tamper with evidence or intimidate witnesses and to appear before the trial court; breach entails cancellation; observations not to affect the trial on merits. (Krishan Pahal, J.)

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD

CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 26139 of 2025

Ravi

.....Applicant(s)

	Versus
State Of U.P. And 3 Others			.....Opposite Party(s)
Counsel for Applicant(s)	: Ajay Kumar Bijay Kumar	Yadav,	Akash Mishra,
Counsel for Opposite Party(s)	: Deeksha Gupta	, G.A.

Court No. - 65

(Sl. No. 130 out of 259)

HON'BLE KRISHAN PAHAL, J.

List has been revised. As informed by learned AGA, notice to the informant has been served on 24.07.2025 but none is present on behalf of the informant.

Heard Sri Akash Mishra, learned counsel for the applicant and Ms. Diksha Gupta, learned counsel for High Court Legal Services Committee as well as Sri V.K.S. Parmar, learned A.G.A. for the State and also perused the material placed on record.

Applicant seeks bail in Case Crime No. 62 of 2025, under Sections 137(2), 87, 64 of BNS and Sections 3/4 of POCSO Act, Police Station - Friends Colony, District - Etawah, during the pendency of trial.

Having heard the learned counsel for the parties, this Court finds that the statement of the victim recorded u/s 183 BNSS prima facie indicates her consent as she had accompanied the applicant all the way to Rajasthan from her native place Etawah and has not raised any alarm whatsoever. As per her school progress report, she is 17 years old on the date of the incident however, the said document cannot be relied upon in view of the provisions of Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act. There is no other valid document on record to establish that the victim was a minor at the relevant time. Moreover, in light of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in P. Yuvaprakash vs. State Rep. by Inspector of

BAIL No. 26139 of 2025

2

Police (AIR 2023 SC 3525) , only a matriculation or equivalent certificate, or a certificate issued by a municipal authority or Panchayat, can be relied upon for determination of age in the absence of birth records. Furthermore, there is no medical evidence on record to corroborate the alleged incident.

Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, prima facie the Court is of the view that the applicant has made out a case for bail. Accordingly, the bail application is allowed .

Let the applicant- Ravi, be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties to the satisfaction of the court concerned, subject to verification of sureties, with the conditions that he shall not tamper with evidence or intimidate witnesses and shall appear before the trial court as required.

Breach of any condition shall entail cancellation of bail. The observations herein shall not affect the trial on merits.

(Krishan Pahal,J.)

April 23, 2026 Siddhant

Digitally signed by :- SIDDHANT SAHU High Court of Judicature at Allahabad