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The complainant contended that the bail order was issued without serving notice to her
The Delhi High Court has recently ruled that bail cannot be granted in cases registered under the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, without affording an opportunity for the victim or complainant to be heard.
Justice Navin Chawla, in an order issued on February 14, emphasized that granting bail without serving notice to the complainant is subject to cancellation.
Highlighting the mandatory nature of compliance with sub-sections (3) and (5) of Section 15A of the SC & ST Act, the court asserted that any bail granted in contravention thereof is susceptible to being set aside solely on that ground.
"Compliance with sub-sections (3) and (5) of Section 15A of the SC & ST Act is mandatory in nature, and the bail granted in contravention thereof is liable to be set aside only on that ground," it said.
Court's ruling stemmed from a petition filed by the victim challenging a trial court's decision to grant bail to an accused facing charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including rape, criminal intimidation, and disrobing a woman in public. Additionally, Sections 3(1)(w)(i) and 3(2)(v) of the SC & ST Act were invoked against the accused.
The complainant contended that the bail order was issued without serving notice to her.
Upon reviewing the matter, court concurred that the bail order was indeed passed without ensuring notice to the victim and without affording her a hearing opportunity.
Consequently, court directed the application for bail filed by the respondent to be remanded to the learned special judge.
"The application seeking bail filed by the respondent no. 2 (accused) is restored back to the file of the learned Special Judge. The same shall be considered by the learned Special Judge after giving an opportunity of hearing to the appellant herein, who is the alleged victim," court ordered.
However, court also specified that the accused shall not be taken into custody for a period of 15 days, subject to further orders issued by the special judge concerning the accused's application.
"In the meantime, the respondent no. 2 shall not be taken into custody for a period of 15 days from today, subject of course to the orders passed by the learned Special Judge on the application of the respondent no. 2," it said.
Case Title: X v. State NCT of Delhi & Anr.
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