1 CGHC010262712026 2026:CGHC:40471 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 6527 of 2026 1 - Vinay Ghritlahre S/o Ramsingh Ghritlahre Aged About 21 Years R/o Village Modhe Tehsil Takhatpur District Bilaspur C.G. ... Applicant(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station Takhatpur Distirct Bilaspur C.G. ... Respondent For Applicant : Mr. Jeenath Singh Kurre along with Mr. K.S. Kurre, Advocate For Respondent/State : Ms. Ritika Verma, P.L. Hon’ble Shri Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey Order on Board 16.09.2026 1. The applicant has preferred this First Bail Application under Section 483 of the BNSS, 2023 for grant of regular bail, as he has been arrested in connection with Crime No. 83/2026, registered at Police Station Takhatpur District Bilaspur (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 137(2), 87, 64 of BNS, 4 of POCSO Act. 2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the applicant sexually assaulted the victim, aged about 16 years. The FIR was lodged against the applicant by the father of the victim, pursuant to Digitally signed by JYOTI JHA Date: 2026.09.17 17:14:00 +0530 2 which the offences, as stated above, were registered against him. 3. Learned counsel appearing for the applicant would submit that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the present case. He would submit that the victim and the applicant were known to each other, but no offence as alleged was committed by the applicant. The applicant is in jail since 12.02.2026. He, therefore, prays for grant of bail to the applicant. 4. On the other hand, learned State counsel opposes the bail application and submits that the victim was aged about 16 years and one month at the time of the incident and has already been examined before the Trial Court, wherein she has supported the prosecution case. He further submits that the allegations against the applicant are serious in nature and, therefore, application moved by the applicant for grant of bail may be rejected. 5. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary. 6. It is a well-settled principle of law that a mini-trial is not permissible at the stage of entertaining the bail application. The reliability and credibility of the evidence cannot be examined at this stage. The age of the victim can be ascertained by the learned Trial Court after going through the evidence available on record. 3 7. Having considered the fact that the victim, in her statement recorded before the learned Trial Court, has made serious allegations against the present applicant with regard to sexual assault, and further considering the fact that she was aged about 16 years and 1 month at the time of the incident, I do not find any good ground to enlarge the applicant on bail. Accordingly, the bail application filed by the applicant is rejected. Sd/- (Rakesh Mohan Pandey) Judge Jyoti