Depraved: Delhi High Court cancels bail to man accused of raping his minor daughter, forcing her to watch porn

The Delhi High Court cancelled the bail granted to a man accused of repeatedly raping his minor daughter and forcing her to watch porn with him. 

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said that the girl was subjected to the depraved acts of the father for nearly five years and there cannot be anything more grave than a child being abused by her own father, who gave her birth and holds the pious duty and responsibility of ensuring her safety.

“Significantly, the child has made specific allegations that her father was a sex addict and used to compel her to see with him the pornographic films on his mobile phone. Prima facie, these allegations have been corroborated from the FSL Report of the mobile phone, which has confirmed about the obscene videos being present in the mobile phone. There cannot be anything more perverse and shocking that such acts of the father, if found to be correct and true,” the Court observed. 

In light of the same, Justice Krishna set aside the 2021 bail order of the trial court on the ground that the same was “perverse” and “unjustified” as it was passed without considering the trauma caused to the survivor child and the fact that the investigation was still pending. 

“In the light of the aforesaid discussion, it is evident that the Ld ASJ has failed to consider the material facts and the aspects and has granted Bail on erroneous and misplaced grounds. Clearly, Bail within 09 days of registration of the FIR in such a serious offence crime where the investigation was yet in progress, was completely misplaced. Therefore, the impugned Order granting Bail to Respondent No.2 is set aside. His Bail bond and Surety Bond stand cancelled. The Respondent No. 2 is directed to surrender before the Ld. ASJ within 07 days,” the Court ordered. 

According to the allegations, the accused man subjected his daughter to inappropriate touching, forced viewing of pornography and rape. This began when the girl was around 10 years old and continued for nearly six years.

The survivor initially revealed the ordeal to her therapist in the year 2021 and subsequently to her mother, which led to the filing of a criminal complaint with the police. 

He was booked under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).

However, the man argued that the charges were fabricated to support the mother’s parallel legal battle and that there was a significant delay in registering the complaint. 

The trial court granted him bail within days of arrest, leading to an appeal being filed before the High Court by the survivor. 

After considering the case, the Court said that the girl desisted from narrating the incident due to the father’s threat of subjecting her mother to physical abuse. 

“The gravity of the offence cannot be overlooked and ignored merely by terming it as an outcome of the matrimonial dispute between the Respondent No 2 [father] and his wife,” the Court added. 

Therefore, it cancelled the bail. 

Advocate Gurmukh Singh Arora appeared for the minor girl. 

Shikhar Singh appeared for the accused father. 

Delhi Police was represented by Additional Standing Counsel Sanjeev Bhandari. 

[Read Judgment]