:1: IN IN IN THE THE THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.1072 OF 2008 Gayas Khan Ashraf Khan. ..Applicant. Vs. The State of Maharashtra. ..Respondent. Ms. Sudha Dwivedi for the Applicant. Mr. A.S.Shitole, APP. for the State. CORAM: R.S. MOHITE, J. DATE : 25th September, 2008 PC : 1. This is an application for grant of bail. The applicant has been convicted for an offence punishable under Section-342, 376 and 506 Part-II of the Indian Penal Code. He was on bail pending his trial and there is no allegation of abuse of bail. According to the prosecution, the prosecutrix Miss. Mona was minor aged about 14 to 15 years. So far as incident is concerned, the prosecutrix herself admits that when her grand mother was sleeping in the house and her parents were away, at about 2.00 a.m. at night accused phoned her and she went to him. Though it is correct that the question of consent may not be relevant in cases where prosecutrix is found to be minor, it may have a bearing on the sentence. The Advocate for the applicant has placed reliance in the case of Balasaheb Vs. The State of Maharashtra reported in 1994 Cri. L.J. 3044. In that case, the Division Bench of this court has held that error in case of age based on ossification test :2: may be of plus or minus three years. The accused was held entitled to advantage of marginal error based on ossification test. Be that as it may, in the other circumstances of this case, I am inclined to grant bail to the applicant. It is therefore, directed that pending appeal, the applicant may be released on bail in the sum of Rs.15,000/- with one surety in the like amount subject to condition that he will report to Nehrunagar Police Station, Kurla once in fortnight on every first and third Monday of every month till the disposal of the appeal on merits and will not get in touch with the prosecutrix. Application is disposed off. (R.S. MOHITE, J.)