1 HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR . Criminal Application No. 436 of 2010 PRASHANT S/O UTTAM DHAWANE VS. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA ______________________________________________________________________ Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders Court's or Judge's orders or directions and Registrar's orders. Shri F.T. Mirza, Advocate for the applicant, Shri V.A. Thakre, A.P.P for the State. Coram : A.H. JOSHI, J. Date : 25th March, 2010. 1. Heard both sides. 2. Perused record. 3. F.I.R. is registered against the accused under Sections 363, 366, 143, 506 of Indian Penal Code. 4. Foundation of F.I.R. is that on the date of incident the victim was 16 years of age, even in the statement in the record of police, on 13 th February, 2010, age of victim is shown to be 16 years. 5. It is undisputed that the victim has appeared and passed in 12 th Standard i.e. Higher Secondary Certificate Examination and it is an incident anticident to the registration of offence. The date of birth 2 recorded in the School and Board Certificate is 8-1-1991. According to her date of birth, indicates that on the date of incident, she is 18 years of age. 6. It is seen that the applicant has placed on record the application and order passed in Misc. Application No.14/2010. It was the case under Section 98 of Criminal Procedure Code. The question was as to whether Minal be sent to her father's custody or allowed to go as per choice. The learned Judicial Magistrate First Class has recorded on the basis of material that has come before him inter-alia the opinion of the expert Dr. Shri Ramteke that the victim was of over 18 years of age. 7. The very foundation of the case that the victim was 16 years of age gets weakened and the offence of kidnapping turns under grove doubt as to sustainability. 8. Once it is demonstrated by two crucial pieces of evidence that age of the victim was above 18 years, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail. 9. In the result, application is allowed. 10. The applicant be released on executing Personal Bond and solvent surety in sum of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand Only). Judge |adgokar| 3