AHMEDABAD: A special Pocso court at Mirzapur ordered the release of a youth arrested on rape charges after he argued that his incarceration would prolong the ordeal of the victim because she is his wife now.
The victim also reiterated the same contention in her affidavit and pleaded for the man’s immediate release.
The case involved Amreli resident Nareshbhai Chudasama, who is in his early 20s. He had eloped with a 15-year-old girl in 2018.
Chudasama was first booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act with Vadhvan police station in Surendranagar. When cops traced the couple, the girl refused to go with her father and was sent to a women’s shelter home in Rajkot. The couple managed to unite once again and escaped from the place. The girl’s father lodged another complaint with Dholera police in Ahmedabad district under Pocso and IPC charges.
Nearly three years later, Chudasama was arrested by Dholera police and sent to judicial custody. After the police filed a chargesheet against him, Chudasama applied for regular bail and was heard by a special Pocso judge at Mirzapur rural court. He claimed innocence and submitted that when the girl turned 18 years old, they got their marriage registered with a sub-registrar on June 14, 2021.
His advocate argued further, “After the marriage, the couple began living together as husband and wife. If the accused is kept in jail for long, the victim in this case would only suffer because she is living at the accused’s home as his wife.”
The prosecution and the victim’s father vehemently opposed the bail plea. However, the victim filed an affidavit and pleaded for the accused’s immediate release. She stated that they had been in love for a long time and she had wanted to marry him.
“When she turned adult, they tied the knot and got their marriage registered. She is now living at the accused’s home with his family. If her husband is made to languish in jail for long, she will have to face the difficulties,” she stated in the affidavit.
After hearing the case, special judge T K Rana granted bail to Chudasama on various conditions like he would regularly attend court proceedings and would not try to influence witnesses.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
