Court revokes bail order for rape accused without hearing victim

Man faces prosecution in rape case filed against him in 2022 (Representative)

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court has set aside a trial court order granting bail to a man in a rape case without hearing the alleged victim.

The High Court said that not giving prosecutors an opportunity to be heard in proceedings after a crime has been committed would be contrary to Supreme Court directives on the rights of victims.

Justice Navin Chawla stayed the June 2022 bail order and said the man has the right to move a fresh bail plea to the trial court within two weeks, making it clear that he will not be arrested until the lower court passes an order in June 2022 . his application.

“Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the prosecutor was not provided with a copy of the bail application and was not given the same notice or given the same opportunity to object, which would be a breach of the Supreme Court’s stipulation that the victim has the right to participate without restriction Directions on the right to proceed and the right to be heard at every step after an offense has been committed, including the right to be heard when deciding on a bail application.

“It is submitted that a breach of this provision would result in a serious miscarriage of justice,” the High Court said.

The court passed the order based on the woman’s plea challenging the order of the trial court.

The issue raised by the woman was that she neither received a copy of the bail application nor was she informed of the date of hearing before the order was passed.

The state’s status report to the High Court also upheld the woman’s plea.

The High Court in its order said, “Considering that accused No. 2 (man) has been on bail since June 14, 2022 and the order was set aside by the trial court for failure to follow the procedure, he shall be required to do so within two days from today.” A bail application will be filed within the week.

“If such an application is made, the man cannot be arrested until the trial court passes an order on such application.” The high court said the issue of extension of interim protection granted in the order should be left to the discretion of the trial court.

The man filed a rape case at the Rajinder Nagar police station in central Delhi in 2022 and is currently facing prosecution.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)