Punjab & Haryana High Court allows Deepak Chaurasia to furnish fresh bail bonds in POCSO case on deposit of ₹2 lakh

The Punjab & Haryana High Court on Tuesday allowed journalist Deepak Chaurasia to furnish fresh bail bonds in a case wherein he allegedly aired morphed obscene videos of a 10-year-old girl and her family, linking it to the sexual assault case against godman Asaram Bapu [Deepak Chaurasia v. State]..Earlier this month, a Gurugram court had cancelled his bail bonds, dismissed an application for exemption from appearance in the trial, and issued a warrant for his arrest.Chaurasia moved the High Court challenging this order..Justice Jagmohan Bansal noted that Chaurasia at present held a very senior position in a national news channel, and took note of the fact that he willing to deposit ₹2 lakh for his non-appearance before the trial court."The petitioner, at present, is holding very senior position in a national news Channel. The petitioner is undertaking to pay a cost of Rs.2 lakhs on account of non-appearance and he has further submitted that he would appear before the trial Court on 03.03.2023 and furnish fresh bail bonds," the Court recorded in its order.The Court also noted that Chaurasia has undertaken to not raise any issue if an adverse order is passed against him by the trial court in his absence..During the hearing, Chaurasia's counsel submitted that due to his scheduled interview with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he could not appear before the trial court, and thus sought exemption.There is no possibility of his fleeing from justice, since he is well-known personality in the electronic media, counsel added. While passing its order, the Court said,"Right of personal liberty granted by Article 21 of the Constitution of India is one of the most pious and important fundamental right guaranteed by our Constitution. Arrest not only deprives right of personal liberty but also causes mental agony, stress and tarnish reputation of entire family.".Considering that Chaurasia was not involved in any other case, and that he was ready to face the trial, the Court allowed him to furnish fresh bail bonds and costs of ₹2 lakh for failing to appear in the case.The matter will be heard next on March 10..The case concerns a first information report (FIR) registered against Chaurasia on the complaint of a relative of the child whose morphed images he had aired on his programme in December 2013, in violation of the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.News channels News24, India News and News Nation are accused of airing the video. According to reports, former News24 Managing Editor Ajit Anjum, anchor Chitra Tripathi and Chaurasia are among eight people implicated in the case.It is alleged that the video aired on these news channels partially revealed the faces of the girl child, the complainant’s wife, and some other women..An arrest warrant was first issued against Chaurasia in the case on October 28 last year, after he sought exemption from appearance on the ground that he had to be rushed to hospital because of low blood sugar levels. The court had noted in that order that Chaurasia's claims were not supported by any medical certificate or affidavit.Additional Sessions Judge Shashi Chauhan had further noted that even on September 23, a similar application was moved, and that it appeared that Chaurasia was intentionally avoiding appearance before the trial court.On February 4, Judge Chauhan had issued a warrant of arrest against Chaurasia for March 3..[Read Order]