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Premoday’s son and daughter, accused of abetting the crime, had approached the high court last week seeking pre-arrest bail in the case after they failed to secure the relief from trial court
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected anticipatory bail pleas of the daughter and son of suspended Delhi government officer Premoday Khakha in a case of alleged sexual assault on a minor girl by the arrested official.
“I have dismissed the application at this stage,” said the bench of Justice Saurabh Banerjee.
Premoday’s son and daughter, accused of abetting the crime, had approached the high court last week seeking pre-arrest bail in the case after they failed to secure the relief from trial court.
Premoday Khakha allegedly raped the girl several times between November 2020 and January 2021. She was staying at the residence of the accused, a family friend, after her father passed away on October 1, 2020, the police said.
The minor was allegedly impregnated and Khakha’s wife, Seema Rani (an accused in the case) gave medicine to her to terminate the pregnancy.
The couple was arrested on Monday i.e. August 2, 2023 after the victim recorded her statement before a magistrate at a hospital.
Accordingly, a case was registered under provisions of the POCSO Act and Indian Penal Code sections 376(2)(f) (being a relative, guardian or teacher of, or a person in a position of trust or authority towards the woman, commits rape on such woman) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to outrage the modesty of a woman).
IPC Sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman's consent) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) were also invoked in the case.
Notably, the high court on August 28, 2023 took suo moto cognizance of the matter.
Case title: Prateeksha Khakha v. The State of NCT of Delhi & Harsh Prateek Khakha v. The State of NCT of Delhi
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