Harish Kumar v. State of Punjab
In the High Court of Punjab & Haryana
CRM-M 39639/2020
Before Justice Hari Pal Verma
Decided on December 04, 2020

Relevancy of the Case: Proving close relationship between the complainant and the accused using photographs in a rape case

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 376D, 292, 34, 375)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 173(8), 439)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The accused and the victim were close friends with each other. The applicant was accused of raping the prosecutrix and subsequently, he was arrested.
• A Special Investigative Team was formed to investigate the incident. They found that the accused was innocent of the offence under Section 376D and thus, a supplementary challan under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 must be filed.
• Also, the accused had been in jail since 2018.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued there were certain photographs proving a close relation between the accused and the victim. The allegations of rape are false.
• The respondent’s counsel submitted that he did not dispute the custody of the accused. However, the counsel emphasised on the commitment of offence.

Opinion of the Bench

• The Court opined that the accused has been in jail since December 10, 2018 and that the Special Investigative Team’s conclusion lean in favour of the accused’s innocence.
• Thus, a cancellation report under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure must be filed.

Final Decision

• The bench accepted the bail application.

Marc Pereira, an undergraduate student at Rizvi Law College, Mumbai, prepared this case summary during his internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2022.