Uttarakhand High Court
Meena Kholiya vs St At E Of Ut T Arakhand on 25 February, 2025
I N TH E H I GH COURT OF UTTARAKH AN D
AT N AI N I TAL
TH E H ON 'BLE SRI JUSTI CE ASH I SH N AI TH AN I
2 5 t h FEBURARY, 2 0 2 5
FI RST BAI L APPLI CATI ON N O. 2 0 0 6 of 2 0 2 4
Meena Kholiya ...Applicant
Versus
St at e of Ut t arakhand ...Respondent
Counsel for t he Applicant : Mr. Deep Prakash Bhat t ,
learned counsel.
Counsel for t he St at e : Mr. S.C. Dum ka learned
A.G.A.
Wit h
FI RST BAI L APPLI CATI ON N O. 2 1 4 1 of 2 0 2 4
Manohar ...Applicant
Versus
St at e of Ut t arakhand ...Respondent
Counsel for t he Applicant : Mr. Am ar Murt i Shukla and
Ms. Lat a Negi, learned
counsel.
Counsel for t he St at e : Mr. S.C. Dum ka learned
A.G.A.
H on'ble Ashish N a it ha ni, J.
Heard Mr. Deep Prakash Bhat t , learned counsel; Mr. Am ar Murt i Shukla, learned counsel for t he applicant ; and Mr. Rakesh Negi, learned Brief Holder for t he St at e of Ut t arakhand.
2. Two separat e bail applicat ions have been m oved by t he applicant , nam ely, Meena Kholiya in Bail Applicat ion No. 2006 of 2024 and anot her one filed by t he applicant , nam ely Manohar, in Bail Applicat ion No. 2141 of 2 2024. They are connect ed and relat ed t o t he sam e incident of t he alleged crim e and, t herefore, are being heard t oget her. The applicant , Meena Kholiya, is represent ed by her learned counsel, Mr. Deep Prakash Bhat t , while t he ot her applicant , Manohar, is represent ed by Mr. Am ar Murt i Shukla and Ms. Lat a Negi, learned counsels. Mr. S.C. Dum ka, learned A.G.A., appears on behalf of t he St at e of Ut t arakhand.
3. The present bail applicat ion has been m oved on behalf of t he applicant , nam ely, Meena Kholiya, aged about 42 years w/ o Shri Pushkar Singh Kholia r/ o Village Nagla Tarai, Jhankaiya, Dist rict Udham Singh Nagar.
4. Bot h t he applicant s / accused are in j ail in FI R No. 85/ 2024, under Sect ions 127( 2) , 61( 2) , 64( 1) of Bharat iya Nyaya Sanhit a, 2023, regist ered at Police St at ion Jhankaiya Dist rict Udham Singh Nagar
5. At t he out set , it is cont ended t hat t he com plainant / prosecut rix lodged t he FI R on 25.09.2024, alleging t hat applicant No. 1, Meena Kholiya, invit ed her t o her place at Nagla Tarai. At about 7-8 p.m ., Meena called her nephew, t he ot her applicant / accused, nam ely Manohar, and inform ed t he prosecut rix t hat t hey would have dinner t oget her. Around 9 p.m ., Manohar brought a bot t le of whiskey, and he, along wit h Meena, st art ed drinking. The com plainant furt her st at ed t hat she was also offered a drink, but she declined. She alleges t hat Manohar t hen forcefully held her despit e her resist ance and sexually assault ed her. She furt her claim s t hat while Manohar was sexually assault ing and raping her, she at t em pt ed t o escape, but applicant Meena allegedly locked t he door from t he out side, t hereby assist ing Manohar in com m it t ing t he crim e.
36. I t is cont ended t hat all cont ent ions what soever narrat ed in t he FI R are false and m ade up. I t is said t hat t he applicant , Manohar Singh Kholiya, and t he inform ant / prosecut rix have known each ot her from t heir early days. Bot h of t hem were in cont inuous t ouch t hrough conversat ion on What sApp, which shows t heir binding friendship. This reflect s t hat bot h were in a relat ionship.
7. I t is furt her cont ended t hat Manohar Singh Kholiya is not only fam iliar wit h t he inform ant / prosecut rix but also a close friend of her husband.
8. On behalf of t he applicant Meena Kholiya, it is said t hat she is an elderly lady wit h t wo m arried daught ers and one em ployed son, and it is beyond t he t rut h t hat she will com m it such an offence as alleged in t he FI R. I t is said t hat t here is an age gap of 20 years bet ween applicant no 1- Meena Kholiya and her nephew- Manohar Singh Kholiya, and it is highly im probable t hat bot h aunt and nephew have drunk t oget her.
9. The learned counsels for t he applicant in bot h t he bail applicat ions have shown som e docum ent s before t his court suggest ing t hat t he inform ant / prosecut rix and applicant no.2, Manohar Singh Kholiya, were in a relat ionship. This is based on t heir What sApp chat .
10. That t here is no m edical proof t hat t he inform ant / prosecut rix had been subj ect ed t o any abuse or sexual int ercourse or t hat t he Applicant has raped her, Manohar Singh Kholiya. No evidence indicat es t hat applicant Meena Kholiya helped her nephew, applicant Manohar, in t he com m ission of t he said offence. Hence, it was prayed on behalf of bot h t he applicant s t hat t hey m ay be enlarged on bail as t he grounds are sufficient .
411. Bot h t he bail applicat ions, as m ent ioned above, have been st rongly opposed by Mr. S.C. Dum ka, learned Addit ional Governm ent Advocat e, wit h t he cont ent ions t hat t here is enough evidence t hat would show t hat Manohar Singh Kholiya had asked t he report er/ prosecut rix t o cook food for him and on t he sam e day, i.e. 24.09.2024 at about 9 p.m . Manohar cam e hom e wit h a bot t le of liquor. He offered her a drink, but she refused. Lat er, t he applicant / accused, Manohar, forcefully st art ed t aking her t o t he room . Then t he prosecut rix t ried t o reach Meena, but Manohar followed her and t ook her forcibly t o her room by dragging her. The prosecut rix desperat ely t ried t o escape, but t he applicant - Meena bolt ed t he room from out side. This clearly shows t hat t he applicant / accused Manohar forcibly com m it t ed sexual int ercourse wit h her.
12. I t is also subm it t ed t hat t he prosecut ion's case has been support ed by t he st at em ent of t he vict im ( prosecut rix) herself, recorded under Sect ion 183 of t he Bharat iya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhit a, 2023, as well as t he st at em ent of ot her wit nesses and t herefore, t here is no quest ion of false im plicat ion in t he present m at t er. The vict im was m edically exam ined, and t he st at em ent of t he doct or who exam ined her was also recorded u/ s 180 of t he Bharat iya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhit a, 2023.
13. It is cont ended t hat t he applicant - Manohar Singh Kholiya com m it t ed forceful rape upon t he vict im / prosecut rix while t he co- accused applicant Meena Kholiya has deep root ed conspiracy and has helped in t he com m ission of crim e.
14. I t is request ed t hat t he involvem ent of t he present applicant / accused persons and t he gravit y of t he offence, t he bail m ay be rej ect ed.
515. Aft er hearing t he learned counsel for bot h t he part ies and perusal of t he record, at t his j unct ure, I find it a fit case for bail for bot h m at t ers:
1) BA1/ 2006/ 2024 Meena Kholiya Vs. St at e of Ut t arakhand.
2) BA1/ 2141/ 2024 Manohar Vs. St at e of Ut t arakhand.
16. At t he out set , it is evident t hat bot h t he prosecut rix and t he applicant , Manohar Singh Kholiya, are adult s. Wit hout going int o t he m erit s, and as per t he docum ent s shown before t he court , t hey seem t o be in a relat ionship. The prosecut rix's m edical report m ent ions no case of violence against her, and it is also shown t hat her hym en is t orn.
17. Likewise, at t his j unct ure, t his court finds no grounds t hat applicant Meena Kholiya m ay have assist ed Manohar in t he com m ission of a crim e. Hence, t his Court is of t he view t hat t he applicant s, nam ely Meena Kholiya and Manohar Singh Kholiya, deserve bail at t his st age. The Bail Applicat ions are allowed.
18. Let t he applicant s, Meena Kholiya and Manohar Singh Kholiya, be released on bail aft er execut ing a personal bond and furnishing t wo reliable suret ies, each in t he like am ount , t o t he sat isfact ion of t he court concerned.
19. I t is clarified t hat if t he applicant m isuses or violat es any of t he condit ions im posed upon him , t he prosecut ion agency will be free t o m ove t he court t o cancel t he bail.
___________________ ASH I SH N AI TH AN I , J.
Dt : 25.02.2025