S. v. State of Rajasthan

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

Criminal Appeal No(s). 5184/2026
@SLP (Crl.) No(s). 18297/2026

S. ...APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
STATE OF RAJASTHAN ...RESPONDENT(S)

[NyayVidhan note: the appellant is accused of exploiting a child, so this order is anonymised. The appellant's name is shown by its initial (S.). The order does not name the child, her mother, her grandmother (the informant) or her father, and it prints no FIR number, police station, district, offence or section. The High Court's order date, the custody start date and the Supreme Court case numbers and dates are kept. Paragraphs 1-14 carry the Court's numbers. The record of proceedings of 03.11.2026, which follows the signed order, is given in abridged form, with the counsel for each side on one line and its order on one line. The digital-signature block, Registry signatures and page numbers are left out. The order's own wording is otherwise kept as printed (for example, "the statements of the victims" in paragraph 6 and "class VI" in paragraph 8).]

[Source: Supreme Court of India, www.sci.gov.in — order dated 3 November 2026.]

O R D E R

1. Leave granted.

2. Heard learned counsel for the parties.

3. This appeal arises from an order dated 09.03.2026 by which the High Court has rejected the regular bail prayer of the appellant.

4. The First Information Report (‘FIR’) of the case was lodged by the grand-mother of the victim wherein she had alleged that her daughter-in-law had illicit relations with the appellant. She also alleged that the appellant used to exploit the victim.

5. It appears from the record that informant’s own son i.e. father of the victim himself is facing allegations of commission of an offence and at the time of lodging the FIR, was in jail.

6. The appellant has suffered incarceration since 05.02.2025 and in the course of trial, the statements of the victims have been recorded. The said statements have been brought on record through the counter affidavit.

7. We have perused those statements.

8. The learned counsel for the appellant submits that what is conspicuous in the statement of the victim is that she has not made disclosure about the date, the month or the year in which she was exploited even though she is a student of class VI. It has been submitted that the appellant has been falsely implicated only because it is suspected that he has illicit relations with victim’s mother. It has also been contended that it is not likely that trial would be concluded in near future as the charge-sheet enlists 25 witnesses out of which only 5 have been examined thus far.

9. The learned counsel for the respondent-State submits that since the allegations are there in the statements of the prosecutrix, the reliability and credibility of those statements would be tested in the trial and, therefore, it would not be appropriate to comment on the reliability and credibility of those statements at this stage. She also submits that the appellant has two previous criminal antecedents.

10. The learned counsel for the appellant in response submits that in one case, the appellant has been acquitted and in the other case, he is on bail.

11. Having considered the rival submissions, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the prosecution case, we are of the view that the appellant is entitled to be released on bail at this stage.

12. Accordingly, the appeal is allowed. The order passed by the High Court rejecting the regular bail prayer of the appellant is set aside.

13. The appellant shall be released on bail on such terms and conditions as the trial court may deem fit to impose in the facts and circumstances of the case.

14. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.

………………………………………………………………..J
[MANOJ MISRA]

………………………………………………………………..J
[VIJAY BISHNOI]

New Delhi;
November 03, 2026.

ITEM NO.4 COURT NO.9 SECTION II-D

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Criminal Appeal No(s). 5184/2026
@SLP (Crl.) No(s). 18297/2026

S. Appellant(s)
VERSUS
STATE OF RAJASTHAN Respondent(s)

IA No. 275301/2026 - APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION FROM FILING ORIGINAL CUSTODY CERTIFICATE; IA No. 275313/2026 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T.

Date : 03-11-2026 This matter was called on for hearing today.

CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ MISRA
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIJAY BISHNOI

For Appellant(s) : Mr. Ashish Saini, Adv., Mr. Vipin Kumar- 3546, AOR, Mr. Dalganjan Singh, Adv., Mr. Pramod Kumar Singh, Adv., Mr. R.r.maurya, Adv., Mr. V.s.yadav, Adv., Mr. Bharat Lal Soni, Adv., Mr. Mahesh Chaurasia, Adv., Mr. Bishnu Prasad Tiwari, Adv., Mr. Krishna Kumar Yadav, Adv.
For Respondent(s) : Ms. Nidhi Jaswal, Adv., Mr. Saurabh Rajpal- 3577, AOR

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following ORDER: 1. Leave granted. 2. The appeal is allowed in terms of the signed order placed on the file. 3. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.

(Signed order is placed on the file)