HC denies bail to man accused of sexually abusing and abetting suicide of his 17-year-old niece

Rejecting the bail plea filed by a man, arrested for sexually abusing and abetting the suicide of his 17-year-old niece in Pune in 2020, the Bombay High Court has said it was unfortunate that we have not been able to create an atmosphere in the society where primary caregivers of a child fail to identify the signs of sexual abuse.A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre made the remarks while rejecting Gaurav Narkhedes bail plea.

Rejecting the bail plea filed by a man, arrested for sexually abusing and abetting the suicide of his 17-year-old niece in Pune in 2020, the Bombay High Court has said it was unfortunate that we have not been able to create an atmosphere in the society where primary caregivers of a child fail to identify the signs of sexual abuse.

A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre made the remarks while rejecting Gaurav Narkhede's bail plea. The court in its order passed on September 1, a copy of which was made available on Wednesday, noted that sexual violence knows no boundaries and occurs in every country across all parts of society. ''A child may be subjected to sexual abuse or exploitation at home too. Unfortunately, we have not been able to create an atmosphere in the society, where parents, teachers and adults in company of the child can identify signs of abuse and make sure children receive care and protection,'' the court said.

Justice Dangre, while refusing bail to Narkhede, said he was a mature and married man and hence does not deserve liberty in such a case.

As per the prosecution, the victim jumped from the balcony of her fourth floor residence in Pune in September 2020 and died in October. In November 2020, the victim's mother lodged a complaint against Narkhede, the victim's uncle, accusing him of sexually abusing her and abetting her suicide.

The police case is that in the year 2018, the victim had stayed at Narkhede's house in Aurangabad. During this time, the accused allegedly sexually abused the girl and later continued to send her offensive and vulgar messages.

After her death, the police recovered the messages from the victim's phone and also a chit written by the victim to her mother.

Narkhede was arrested and booked under various sections of the IPC for outraging the modesty of a woman and abetment of suicide and under provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. ''The deceased was a young girl in her adolescence and impressionable age, and here is the case of this girl who was hesitant to disclose about the ill intentions of the applicant, who was her own uncle,'' the court said.

The court noted that the chit written by the girl just a few hours before she took the extreme step of committing suicide ''is an expression of despair and her anguish; it reflects her desperation and pain.'' The court noted that while it is true that for abetment of suicide direct instigation has to be there but in particular cases, instigation has to be gathered from the circumstances and a straight jacket formula cannot be adopted.

''The present case is of a young teenage girl, who felt cornered by the conduct and demeanor of her own uncle, which was unexpected since she held him on a high pedestal as her own father and was unable to vent her anguish on account of the close proximity of the family with that of the applicant,'' the order said.

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