Kerala HC Grants Bail To Man Claiming He Was Falsely Accused Of Sexually Abusing Daughter Because He Stopped Her From Following K-Pop Band BTS

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted bail to a father who had been accused of sexually abusing his minor daughter, on doubting the veracity of the allegations raised against him. 

Justice Gopinath P. stated that although the allegations that were raised against the petitioner appeared to be serious, some of the factual circumstances indicated the possibility of the same being false. 

"While it may not be proper for this Court to make any conclusion regarding the matter. While considering the bail application of the petitioner, the same can be taken note of for considering whether the petitioner can be granted bail. Since investigation has been completed and final report has been filed, continued detention of the petitioner is not necessary for the purpose of investigation," the Court observed. 

The petitioner was alleged to have sexually assaulted his minor daughter on several occasions, and that the latter did not disclose the same to anyone out of fear. It is submitted that the minor eventually revealed the incident to her aunt after the petitioner did not permit her to go on a school trip. 

The petitioner denied the allegations against him and averred that the same had arisen on account of himself and his wife objecting to the victim following the Korean Pop Band namely 'BTS', which they found to be un-Islamic. The petitioner said that the victim had started following BTS under the influence of the aforementioned aunt and that when he refused to permit her to go on the trip, the present false allegations had been raised against him by the victim on being instigated by the aunt. 

The Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, opposed the grant of bail on the ground that the allegations against the petitioner were serious and that since the investigation had been completed, there was nothing to suggest that the contentions raised by him were true. 

Taking note of the factual circumstances, and the fact that the custody of the minor victim was now with her aunt, the Court granted him bail, by imposing conditions to ensure that the petitioner does not come into contact with the victim in any manner.

Counsel for the Petitioner: Senior Advocate P. Vijaya Bhanu, and Advocates Jawahar Jose, Safeer Bawa A.S., Sruthy N. Bhat, and Nikita J. Mendez

Counsel for the Respondents: Senior Public Prosecutor Noushad K.A. 

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 750 

Case Title: XXX v. State of Kerala & Anr. 

Case Number: BAIL APPL. NO. 11198 OF 2023

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