Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010027292025 2025:GAU-AS:3372 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : AB/330/2025 MD ABU TAHER SHEIKH S/O- LATE MOKSED ALI, VILL- OXIGURI, P.O- SRINAGAR, DHUTURAMARI, P.S- TAMARHAT, DIST- DHUBRI, ASSAM VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND ANR. REP. BY THE PP, ASSAM 2:SAHIRON BIBI W/O KACHU SK. VILL-NATABARI PART-II P.S. TAMARHAT DIST.DHUBRI ASSAM PIN-783332 M.NO. 99579-3845 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A T SARKAR, AMINUR RAHMAN Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, MS B CHOUDHURY, Amicus Curiae (R-2) BEFORE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MANASH RANJAN PATHAK ORDER 25-03-2025 Heard Mr. HRA Choudhury, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. A. T. Sarkar, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. B. Sarma, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Assam for the opposite party No.1. Also heard Ms. Bhanita Choudhury, Page No.# 2/4 learned Amicus Curiae for the informant/opposite party No.2. 2. Apprehending his arrest, the petitioner, namely, Md. Abu Taher Sheikh, son of late Moksed Ali, resident of Village-Oxiguri, P.O.-Srinagar, Dhuturamari, Police Station- Tamarhat, District-Dhubri, Assam, has filed this application under Section 482 BNSS, 2023 on 10.02.2025 seeking pre-arrest bail in Tamarhat Police Station Case No. 07/2025, corresponding to G.R. No.44/2025 registered under Section 79 BNS, 2023, read with Sections 8/12 of the POCSO Act, 2012. 3. As per the FIR dated 08.01.2025, lodged by the informant before the Tamarhat Police Station, the case is that her minor daughter, aged about 15 years, studying at Hatidura Senior Madrassa, where, the petitioner is serving as a teacher, is continuously sexually harassing her minor daughter indicating and gesturing in various ways and also sends messages on Instagram and WhatsApp, made video call to her and thereby sexually harassed her minor daughter. The said FIR of the informant/opposite party No.2 was accordingly registered as Tamarhat P.S. Case No. 07/2025, corresponding to G.R. No.44/2025 under Section 79 BNS, 2023, read with Sections 8/12 of the POCSO Act against the petitioner. 4. The petitioner contended that he is about 53 years and serving in the said Madrassa for more than 20 years and never faced any such complaints from any student. He also stated that on 10.12.1999, there was a meeting pertaining to constitution of the Managing Committee of said Hatidura Senior Madrassa, in which he played a major role in selecting an efficient and competent person, where the father of the victim girl supported another person and as such, there was an animosity between the father of the victim girl and him. As such, by lodging the FIR, some people in the society tried to defame him and to fix him in a case. 5. Perused the case diary placed before the Court today by Mr. B. Sarma, learned Addl. PP. 6. The statement of the victim girl under Section 183 BNSS was recorded by the Page No.# 3/4 learned JMFC, Dhubri on 09.01.2025. 7. From the case diary, it is seen that the father of the victim girl made a complaint before the Principal of the said Madrassa against the petitioner pertaining to his such act and there was meeting in the office Chamber of the Principal of the said Madrassa in presence of the Principal, Vice Principal and other Teachers of the Madrassa including the petitioner and the father of the victim girl and the petitioner as well as the father of the victim girl compromised the matter and signed an agreement to that extent in presence of the Principal, Vice Principal and other Teachers of the Madrassa. The Principal showed the compromise copy between the petitioner and the father of the victim girl in that regard to the police. 8. It is also seen from the case diary that subsequent to that, the FIR has been lodged by the mother of the victim girl. 9. Considering such materials in the case diary, this Court is of the view that custodial detention of the petitioner is not warranted for investigation of said Tamarhat P.S. Case No. 07/2025 and as such, this pre-arrest bail application of the petitioner in said Tamarhat P.S. Case No. 07/2025 is accepted. 10. Accordingly, it is provided that in the event of arrest of the petitioner, namely, Md. Abu Taher Sheikh, son of late Moksed Ali, in said Tamarhat P.S. Case No. 07/2025, he shall be released on bail on furnishing a bail bond of Rs.75,000/- with two local sureties each of the like amount, one of which shall be a Government Employee, either State or Central Government to the satisfaction of the arresting authority on conditions that the petitioner – (i) shall appear before the Investigating Officer of said Tamarhat P.S. Case No. 07/2025 during the office hours on or before 29.03.2025 and thereafter, as and when he is required for necessary investigation of said Tamarhat P.S. Case; (ii) shall not leave the territorial jurisdiction of the Tamarhat Police Station, without obtaining prior written permission from the concerned Investigating Officer of the case; (iii) shall not hamper with the Page No.# 4/4 investigation, or tamper with the evidence of the case; (iv) shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer; (v) shall not threat the minor victim girl or anyone in her family by himself or by others or by anyone, acting on his behalf; (vi) shall not come to the vicinity of the victim girl or anyone of her family and (vii) shall not involve himself in any such criminal activities in future. 11. Any violation of the aforesaid terms and conditions by the petitioner, named above, the pre-arrest bail granted to him in the aforementioned Tamarhat P.S. Case No. 07/2025 shall stand automatically vacated.. 12. This pre-arrest bail application accordingly stands disposed of to the extent above. 13. Return the case diary. 14. The assistance rendered by Ms. Barnita Choudhury, learned Amicus Curiae in adjudicating this case is highly solicited. The Gauhati High Court Legal Services Authority shall pay the remuneration to Ms. Barnita Choudhury, learned Amicus Curiae, on raising a bill. JUDGE Comparing Assistant