HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD CRIMINAL MISC. ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION U/S 482 BNSS No. - 10007 of 2026 Court No. - 72 HON'BLE VIVEK KUMAR SINGH, J. 1. Heard Sri Rajrshi Gupta, learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Sunil Kuamr Pandey, Advocate holding brief of Sri Jitendra Singh, learned counsel for the informant and learned A.G.A for the State and perused the record. 2. The present application has been filed on behalf of the applicant in Case Crime No. 179 of 2026, under Sections 64(1), 137(2), 351(3) of B.N.S. and Section 5L/6 of POCSO Act, Police Station - Dullahpur, District Ghazipur, with a prayer to grant him anticipatory bail. 3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is absolutely innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. He has nothing to do with the alleged offence in spite of that the police are trying to arrest the applicant. The alleged incident is said to have taken place on 14.06.2026, whereas the F.I.R. was lodged after a long delay on 28.06.2026, under Sections 69, 87, 351(3) of B.N.S. The delay in lodging the F.I.R. has not been satisfactorily explained by the prosecution. As per the allegation contained in the F.I.R., physical relationship was established between the applicant and the victim on the pretext of marriage. It is further contended that admittedly the applicant and the victim both are teenagers. As per high- school certificate of the applicant, he was just about 17 years of age; his date of birth is 01.06.2009. As per the high-school certificate of the victim, her date of birth is 01.06.2010. The statements of the victim was recorded under Versus Counsel for Applicant(s) : Kamlesh Shrama, Rajrshi Gupta Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A., Jitendra Singh, Manjesh Singh Yadav X-Minor .....Applicant(s) State Of U.P. And 3 Others .....Opposite Party(s) Section 180 of B.N.S.S. and 183 of B.N.S.S., wherein the victim alleged that she was in touch with the applicant for the past one and half year and physical relationship was established between her and the applicant on the false promise of marriage. The ocular version is not supported with medical evidence. It is further contended that since the applicant himself is a minor boy, therefore, a sympathetic approach may be adopted by this Court and anticipatory bail application may be granted to the applicant who has no criminal antecedent to his credit. Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that the applicant undertakes to cooperate during investigation and trial and shall appear as and when required by the Investigating Agency or the Court concerned. It has also been stated that, in case the applicant is granted anticipatory bail, he shall not misuse the liberty of bail, shall cooperate with the investigation, and shall abide by all the conditions that may be imposed by the Court. 4. On the other hand, learned A.G.A. as well as learned counsel for the informant have opposed the application for anticipatory bail, however, they do not dispute the factual aspect. 5. I have heard the rival submissions of both sides and perused the record. 6. In Sushila Aggarwal and others vs. State (NCT of Delhi) and another, (2020) 5 SCC 1, the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that while considering an application for grant of anticipatory bail, the court has to consider the nature of the offence, the role of the person, the likelihood of his influencing the course of investigation, or tampering with evidence including intimidating witnesses, likelihood of fleeing justice, such as leaving the country, etc. It has further been held that Courts ought to be generally guided by considerations such as the nature and gravity of the offences, the role attributed to the applicant, and the facts of the case, while considering whether to grant anticipatory bail, or refuse it. Whether to grant or not is a matter of discretion. 7. In Siddharth Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh & Another, (2022) 1 Supreme Court Cases 676, the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that personal liberty is an important aspect of our constitutional mandate. The NABAIL No. 10007 of 2026 2 occasion to arrest an accused during investigation arises when custodial investigation becomes necessary or it is a heinous crime or where there is a possibility of influencing the witnesses or accused may abscond. Merely because an arrest can be made because it is lawful does not mandate that arrest must be made. A distinction must be made between the existence of the power to arrest and the justification for exercise of it. If arrest is made routine, it can cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self-esteem of a person. If the Investigating Officer has no reason to believe that the accused will abscond or disobey summons and has, in fact, throughout cooperated with the investigation, then there is no compulsion on the officer to arrest the accused. 8. Considering the settled principle of law regarding anticipatory bail, submissions of the learned counsel for the parties, nature of accusation, role of applicant and all attending facts and circumstances of the case, without expressing any opinion on merits, a case for anticipatory bail is made out. 9. Accordingly, the anticipatory bail application is allowed with following directions:- (i) In the event of arrest of the applicant- X-Minor involved in aforesaid case shall be released on anticipatory bail till the conclusion of trial, on his/her furnishing a personal bond of Rs.50,000/- with two sureties each of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Station House Officer of the police station concerned or the court concerned. (ii) The applicant shall co-operate with the Investigating Officer during investigation and shall report to the Investigating Officer as and when required for the purpose of conducting investigation; (iii) The applicant 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 her/him from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer; and (iv) The applicant shall not leave India without the previous permission of the Court. 10. In default or misuse of any of the conditions, the Public Prosecutor/ NABAIL No. 10007 of 2026 3 Investigating Officer/ first informant-complainant is at liberty to file appropriate application for cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to the applicant, before the concerned court. October 1, 2026 A.P. Pandey NABAIL No. 10007 of 2026 4 (Vivek Kumar Singh,J.) Digitally signed by :- ANAND PRAKASH PANDEY High Court of Judicature at Allahabad