Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:25610 Court No. - 15 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 11844 of 2024 Applicant :- Waseem Khan Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko. And 3 Others Counsel for Applicant :- M.K. Singh Bhardwaj,Gyan Singh Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Subhash Vidyarthi,J. 1. Heard Shri Gyan Singh, the learned counsel for the applicant, Shri Arvind Kumar Pandey, the learned Additional Government Advocate for the State and perused the records. 2. The instant application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in Case Crime No.0231 of 2024, under Sections 70(2)/351(3) B.N.S. & Section 5G/6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, registered at Police Station Patti, District Pratapgarh. 3. The aforesaid case has been registered on the basis of an F.I.R. lodged on 23.07.2024 against four persons, including the applicant stating that the informant's grand daughter aged about 16 years had gone to market on 19.07.2024 for getting her mobile repaired. She returned back at about 7.00 a.m. on 20.07.2024 and told that while she was waiting for conveyance for coming back home the applicant Waseem, whom she knows since earlier, offered to drop her home on his motorcycle. He took her to a secluded place near a farm, where the other accused persons also came and all of them raped her. The victim had fallen unconscious and all the accused persons went away. After regaining her consciousness at about 5.00 a.m. she came back home on a battery rickshaw. 4. In the statement of the victim recorded under Section 180 BNSS she supported the F.I.R. allegations. During medico legal examination of the victim no mark of injury or sign of use of force has been found. As per radiological examination the age of the victim has been found to be 18 years. 5. In the statement of the victim recorded under Section 183 BNSS she stated that she used to talk to co-accused- Maqbool since before. She had some private photos of the applicant with her. The applicant was demanding those photos and the victim declined to hand over the same. The applicant took her for excursion. After she came back, Maqbool, who is a friend of the applicant, met her and he took her to a farm where the applicant was present. She asked the applicant to marry her but he declined. She alleged that the applicant, Sonu and two other persons had raped her. 6. In the affidavit filed in support of bail application, it has been stated that the applicant is a young man aged 22 years, he is innocent, he has been falsely implicated in the present case. After the applicant's implication in the present case, he has been made an accused in a case lodged under under Section 109 B.N.S. and in another case under Uttar Pradesh Gangsters And Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986. 7. The learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that three co-accused- Maqbool, Abdul Kalam alias Lal Babu and Mohd. Sonu have already been enlarged on bail by this Court by means of orders dated 05.04.2025, 23.04.2025 and 23.04.2025, passed in Criminal Misc. Bail Application Nos.11842 of 2024, 11023 of 2024 and 2 of 2025 respectively. 8. The learned Additional Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the State has opposed the prayer for bail and he has submitted that the allegations have been established during investigation and a charge sheet has been submitted on 30.08.2024. He has further submitted that during investigation it has come to light that as per educational record the victim is a minor and as per radiological examination report the age of the victim is 18 years. 9. Having considered the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the fact that the incident took place on 19.07.2024; the victim returned home at about 7.00 a.m. on 20.07.2024, yet the F.I.R. has been lodged on 23.07.2024; that in the F.I.R. lodged three days after the victim returned home there is no mention that the victim was in a relationship with the applicant; that the allegation of commission of rape is not supported by any finding of medico legal examination report; that although the F.I.R. and the victim state that the victim is a minor, the medico legal examination report shows that she is a major; that it appears that complete facts have not been disclosed by the informant and the victim coupled with the fact that the applicant is a young man, he is languishing in jail since 25.07.2024, whereas the investigation already stands concluded and all other persons have already been enlarged on bail, I am of the view that the applicant is also entitled to be released on bail. 10. Accordingly, the bail application is allowed. 11. Let the applicant-Waseem Khan be released on bail in the aforesaid case on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of magistrate/court concerned, subject to following conditions:- (i) the applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence; (ii) the applicant shall not pressurize the prosecution witnesses; (iii) the applicant shall appear on each and every date fixed by the trial court, unless his appearance is exempted by the learned trial court. (Subhash Vidyarthi, J.) Order Date :- 2.5.2025 Ram. Digitally signed by :- RAM SINGH High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench