2025:UHC:3345 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS BA1 No. 638 of 2025 Hon’ble Rakesh Thapliyal, J. 1. Mr. Lalit Sharma and Ms. Sangeeta Bhardwaj, learned counsel for the applicant. 2. Mr. Siddhartha Bisht, learned AGA along with Mr. Himanshu Sain, learned Brief Holder for the State. 3. Present applicant–Banka Singh S/o Late Shri Kamal Singh, is in judicial custody since 20.07.2024 and seeking regular bail in relation to FIR/Case Crime No.0029 of 2024, registered on the basis of FIR dated 19.07.2024 at Police Station Ghansali, District Tehri Garhwal, wherein the present applicant has been implicated for the offences punishable under Section 313, 315, 376(2)(n) read with Section 506 IPC as well as for the offences punishable under Section 3/4, 5j(ii) read with Section 5 and 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012. 4. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated and at the time of alleged incident, the applicant was 75 years’ old and according to the prosecution, the age of the victim was 16 years old. He submits that the applicant is, in fact, the cousin brother of grandfather of the victim and there is a dispute with regard to some ancestral property and the present applicant lives in Delhi and time to time, he visits to the village where the property is located. He submits that only to create a pressure, the FIR has been lodged. 2025:UHC:3345 5. Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that the prosecution submitted a DNA report, wherein it is opined that the present applicant is the biological father of the baby, however, he submits that the DNA report appears to be very doubtful, since there is no reference of percentage of match. 6. Apart from this, he submits that this is a case of malicious prosecution which is evident from the fact that after one year of the incident, the FIR has been lodged. Apart from this, he submits that the charge-sheet has already been filed, therefore, there is no need of custodial interrogation of the present applicant. 7. On the other side, Mr. Siddhartha Bisht, learned AGA for the State, has not disputed this fact that the charge-sheet has already been filed and there is no need of custodial interrogation of the present applicant. 8. After hearing the arguments, as advanced by learned counsel for the parties and further taking into consideration that the charge-sheet has already been filed and there is no need of custodial interrogation of the applicant, this Court is of the view that the present applicant deserves to be enlarged on bail. 9. Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the merit of the case, the present bail application is allowed. 10. Let the applicant, namely, Banka Singh, be released on bail, on his executing a personal bond and furnishing two reliable sureties, each in the like amount, to the satisfaction of the court concerned. (Rakesh Thapliyal, J.) 01.05.2025 R.Bisht 2025:UHC:3345