Allahabad High Court grants bail to lawyer convicted for stalking woman judge

The Allahabad High Court recently granted bail to a lawyer convicted by a trial court and sentenced to four years imprisonment for stalking and harassing a judicial officer [Mohd Haroon vs. State of U.P].Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra granted bail to one Mohd Haroon (convict) after taking into account his incarceration since July 2023 and the likelihood of a delayed decision by the High Court in the revision petition filed by Haroon.“Considering the rival submissions made by the parties and nature of offence and the quantum of punishment awarded and the fact that revisionist is in jail since 11.7.2023 and the revision is not likely to be decided early, due to pendency of backlog cases and without further commenting on the merits of the case this Court deems it fit to enlarge the accused-revisionist on bail during the pendency of this revision,” the Court said.The case arose from allegations that Haroon, while practicing in the District Court of Hamirpur, persistently stalked a judicial officer, passed sexual remarks and invaded her privacy. The complainant filed a First Information Report (FIR) alleging that Haroon's behavior amounted to harassment under Sections 354 (Assault of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A(1)(IV) (Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 354-D (Stalking), and 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)..The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) at Hamirpur convicted him and sentenced him to four years' imprisonment under Section 354 IPC along with other offences. This conviction was later upheld by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Hamirpur.Therefore, he moved the Allahabad High Court by filing a criminal revision plea..Haroon argued that the prosecution’s case was exaggerated and lacked direct evidence of inappropriate communication. He emphasized that he had apologized to the complainant on multiple occasions but these gestures were misconstrued.The defense highlighted that Haroon had already served over two years of his sentence, exceeding half of the maximum term. They also pointed to the unlikelihood of an early hearing due to the High Court’s backlog of cases.The State opposed the application, stressing the gravity of the charges and the fact that the complainant was a judicial officer working in the same district. However, the State conceded that Haroon had served a substantial portion of his sentence. .The Court observed that Haroon’s incarceration since July 2023 and the backlog of pending cases, justified interim relief.Accordingly, the Court granted bail to him subject to personal bond of ₹50,000 with two sureties of the same amount. .Advocates Ajay Pandey, Amit Goel, Azad Khan and Deepak Pandey appeared for Haroon..[Read Order]