Mumbai: A sessions court on Thursday rejected the bail application filed by a 53-year-old lawyer practising in the Bombay high court, arrested in connection with marrying a minor girl who was 14 years’ old at the time of marriage.
The accused had also been charged for allegedly sexually abusing the girl. The accused prayed for bail saying that he was behind the bars since December 2017, which was serving no purpose.Public prosecutor R.S. Kanojia on behalf of Kalachowkie police strongly opposed the bail plea on grounds that the accused was an advocate and practising in the Bombay high court and had complete knowledge of the law despite which he married a girl less than half his age.
Advocate Kanojia also argued that the police still needed to record statements of some witnesses and arrest four more accused and hence, the accused lawyer should not be granted bail. He has been booked under provisions of the IPC, Child Marriage Act, and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The prosecution case is that the girl filed a complaint after the lawyer started to abuse her sexually and physically and didn’t let her meet her parents.
