(Prayer: This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 439 of Cr.P.C (Old), 483 of BNSS (New), praying to allow this petition and grant bail to the petitioner/accused No.1, and release him from the custody of the respondent police with respect to fir in Crime No. 0307/2024 registered by the PSI, Manvi Police Station for the offences punishable under u/S. 9, 10 of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, now additionally included S.64 of the BNS 2023 and S. 4, 6 and 17 of the POCSO Act 2012, and pending on file of the I Addl. District and Sessions Judge, Raichur.)

Oral Order

1. The petitioner has filed this petition under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for grant of regular bail.

2. Based on a complaint filed, the Manvi Police Station registered a case in Crime No. 307/2024 against accused Nos. 1 to 5 for offences punishable under Sections 9 and 10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 2016, and submitted the FIR to the Court.

3. Thereafter, the Investigating Officer submitted a requisition to the Magistrate to insert offences under Section 64 of the BNS, 2023, and Sections 4, 6, and 17 of the POCSO Act, 2012. During the course of the investigation, the accused was arrested and produced before the Magistrate, and the accused was remanded to judicial custody. An application filed under Section 483 of the Cr.P.C. for grant of regular bail came to be rejected on 17.01.2026. Hence, the petitioner has filed this petition.

4. The brief facts of the case are as follows:

          On 30.05.2022, at Manvi, the family members of the instant petitioner/accused No. 1, knowing fully well that the victim girl was hardly aged 16 years, performed her marriage with the instant petitioner/accused No. 1. On the same day, accused No. 1 took her to his house and forcibly had sexual intercourse with her in the form of aggravated penetrative sexual assault. Thereafter, he repeatedly had sexual intercourse with her, as a result of which she became pregnant and delivered a baby boy on 21.07.2025. Based on a complaint given by one Irfan S/o Jahangir before the CDPO, Manvi, the authorities conducted a preliminary enquiry, collected documents, and lodged a complaint before the Manvi Police Station.

          Thereby, the instant petitioner/accused No. 1 is alleged to have committed offences punishable under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; under Sections 4, 6, and 17 of the POCSO Act, 2012; and under Sections 9 and 10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the petitioner is an innocent and law-abiding citizen in society. He has not committed any offence as alleged against him.

6. The marriage between the petitioner and the victim took place on 30.05.2022. The complaint has been lodged belatedly. The complaint was lodged by the complainant on 18.12.2024, based on mere oral information from one Irfan, who is a rival member of the family, after a gap of two years, with the Women and Child Development Department.

7. The victim, in her alleged statement to the respondent No. 1 police, states that at the time of her marriage she was 16 years old and that she now has one female child born on 05.05.2024 and another male child born on 28.07.2025.

8. The said victim had no grievance against the petitioner until date, nor was any complaint lodged against the petitioner voluntarily by the said victim until date. She has been living a happy marital life with the petitioner, having begotten two children out of wedlock.

9. The petitioner has been in judicial custody from 28.11.2025. The investigation is complete, but the charge- sheet is yet to be filed, and hence there is no need for the presence of the petitioner for further enquiry or investigation.

10. The said informant, Irfan, is a rival member of the family who has acted out of sheer malice and vengeance. He has not even submitted a written complaint before the respondent police or before the complainant. Pertinently, it may be noted that the complaint was made after a gap of more than 2 years.

11. In the original complaint, the complainant did not utter or allege anything about the petitioner, and the offences alleged were only regarding an allegation of child marriage. The FIR was initially registered under Sections 10 and 9 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2016. It was later, as an afterthought and with malafide intention and ulterior motives, that the alleged offences under Section 64 of the BNS, 2023, and Sections 4, 6, and 17 of the POCSO Act, 2012, were inserted. There are no specific allegations against the petitioner; as such, the complaint is false and fabricated.

12. There is inordinate and inexplicable delay in lodging the complaint by the complainant. The complaint is concocted and is based on information given by one Irfan after a gap of more than 2 years from the marriage of the petitioner and the victim/respondent No. 2, who are leading a happy married life with two children. It is evident and crystal clear that false information was given by the said Irfan to the complainant only to harass the petitioner.

13. The complainant is not the proper official to lodge a complaint directly, and it is her duty to submit a report to her higher officials, who shall further investigate the matter. Furthermore, the complainant also failed to file an authorization letter to lodge a complaint from her higher officials.

14. It is pertinent to note that under Muslim law, the consideration for marriage is puberty, and the normal age of puberty is treated as 15 years; hence, no offence is committed by the petitioner under the provisions of the POCSO Act and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

15. Further, he would submit that the petitioner is ready to abide by the conditions imposed by this Court as sought for allow this petition.

16. As against this, the learned HCGP would submit that the alleged commission of offence is punishable with imprisonment for 20 years. That there are no grounds to grant bail, and he sought for dismissal of the petition.

17. I have examined the materials placed before this Court. In this case, neither the victim nor the parents of the victim have lodged any complaint with the police. The grandmother of the victim has filed a memo before the I Additional Sessions Judge, Raichur, stating that she has no objection to the grant of bail to the accused, Sri. Shakeer Pasha, and she sought for grant of bail to him.

18. On the basis of the complaint filed by Smt. Nagamma, Supervisor working under the CDPO, a complaint was lodged. On the basis of this complaint, the Manvi Police Station registered the case in Crime No. 307/2024 for the commission of offences under Sections 9 and 10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 2016, against accused Nos. 1 to 5.

19. During the course of the investigation, the Investigating Officer submitted a requisition to the JMFC Court to insert offences under Section 64 of the BNS, 2023, and Sections 4, 6, and 17 of the POCSO Act, 2012. The accused is not required for custodial interrogation, as the Investigating Officer has already arrested the accused and, since the date of arrest, the accused has been in judicial custody. It is submitted that the petitioner has two children, aged about one year and eight months, whom he needs to look after.

20. Considering the facts and circumstances of this case and the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner, and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, I am of the opinion that it is just and proper to allow this petition.

21. Hence, I proceed to pass the following:

ORDER

          i. The petition is allowed.

          ii. Petitioner shall execute a personal bond for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- each with one surety for the likesum, to the satisfaction of the trial Court.

          iii. The petitioner shall not directly or indirectly threaten or tamper with the prosecution witnesses.

          iv. The petitioner shall not indulge in similar offences in future.

          v. The petitioner shall assist the Investigating Office for further investigation.