A special court in Mumbai on Tuesday for the fourth time rejected the bail application of a man accused of raping his stepdaughters stating that affidavits filed by family members in his support will not help his case.
The man’s bail pleas were rejected three times last year - in March, May and December. While denying him bail earlier the court had held that there is sufficient prima facie material against him and that the nature of the offence is serious.
This time, seeking bail, the man had cited a change of circumstance in the form of affidavits - one filed by the grandmother of the girls, who is the complainant in the case and another, by their biological father. These affidavits stated that the stepdaughters wanted to falsely implicate the man and believing them, their grandmother had filed the report.
Special judge under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Bharti Kale said in her order deciding his bail application, that the affidavits were filed after his bail applications were repeatedly rejected. “In the circumstances, I find that subsequent filing of affidavits will not help the case of the applicant as it reflects otherwise,” the court said.
The Agripada police station, where the report was lodged against him, had opposed the grant of bail to the man. It had told the court that he being the stepfather of the victims might pressurize and threaten them if released on bail. It had also opposed the bail citing that the charges against him are serious.
