GHANSHYAM MARUTI CHOUGULE vs THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ANR

Judgment text excerpt

4. BA 3675 of 2024.docx Amberkar IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL BAIL APPLICATION NO. 3675 OF 2024 Ghanshyam Maruti Chougule .. Applicant Versus The State of Maharashtra & Anr. .. Respondent ....................  Mr. S. Rao i/b Mr. Vinayak Reddy, Advocates for Applicant.  Mr. Mahalakshmi Ganapathy, APP for Respondent No. 1 – State.  Ms. Kanchan Chandak a/w Mr. Shashikant D. Chandak for Respondent No.2.  Mr. S.R. Kanadkhedkar, PSI, Parksite Police Station – Present. ................... CORAM : MILIND N. JADHAV, J. DATE : FEBRUARY 06, 2025 JUDGMENT: 1. This Application is made under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 seeking regular bail in connection with C.R. No.324/2024 registered with Parksite Police Station for offences under Section 376(2)(i), 376 and 506 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 along with Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012. 2. Notice to the Respondent No.2 – Victim was issued previously by another bench of this court and subsequently Ms. Kanchan Chandak came to be appointed as Legal Aid Counsel to espouse the cause of the victim and thus I have taken up the matter for hearing of 30.01.2025. The matter is fully heard in my chamber considering the facts and sensitivity of the issue. 1 of 12 4. BA 3675 of 2024.docx 3. The prosecution story stated in the FIR is that sometime in the month of May 2023 when the victim was residing with her parents and her mother was admitted to a hospital, the victim woke up to the traumatic realisation of being naked and being sexually assaulted by digital penetration by her father. It is stated that the Applicant – Accused used force of threat and violence to ensure the silence of the victim both in the short and long run. 4. Mr. Rao,