Thane woman, brother get bail in case of sexually assaulting her minor son

Thane, Dec 15 (PTI) A Thane court has granted bail to a woman and her brother arrested on charges of sexually assaulting her 10-year-old son.

The case was registered based on information provided by the father of the victim, who lived with his mother at Lokmanya Nagar in Maharashtra's Thane city following his parents' separation.

The child was allegedly sexually assaulted by his maternal uncle and mother since 2021.

The case was registered after the victim contacted a child helpline on July 30 this year.

The boy's mother and uncle were arrested on August 7 under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015.

The accused later moved the court seeking bail.

The defence counsel claimed that the POCSO Act was misused and highlighted that the investigation was complete, the chargesheet was filed, and the accused had no reported criminal history.

Special Judge R U Malvankar, in the order passed on December 10, observed that the offence is ex facie not punishable with death or life imprisonment.

The accused are not hardcore criminals, as there are no criminal antecedents reported against them by the investigating agency, it noted.

"Ex facie, there are matrimonial disputes pending between accused No. 1 (boy's mother) and her husband, with whom at present the victim is residing. In this background, the possibility of tampering definitely cannot be ruled out," the court said.

"However, considering the pros and cons of the application, there is no point in detaining the accused further behind bars as there is no further requirement of any custodial interrogation from them, and the apprehension expressed can be taken care of by imposing stringent terms and conditions," it said.

The court ordered the applicants to be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs 30,000 each, with one surety in the like amount.

The bail is subject to conditions, including not tampering with witnesses, not repeating the offence, and not leaving India without prior permission of the court, as per the order. PTI COR GK