Karnataka High Court Grants Pre-Arrest Bail To Govt Hospital Nurse Accused Of Facilitating Infant's Sale

The Karnataka High Court recently granted anticipatory bail to a government hospital nurse accused of mediating the sale of a new born baby-girl, after the infant's mother expressed undesirability to raise her on account of financial hardship.A single judge bench of Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar sitting at Dharwad observed that there is no specific averment in the complaint that the Petitioner-nurse facilitated the sale.The complaint was filed by the infant's mother soon after the child was given up to accused no. 2 in exchange for cash consideration of Rs.1,00,000/- and cheque of Rs.70,000/-. The mother insisted that she wants her child back and when the Petitioner failed to bring her, complaint was lodged under Sections 80 and 81 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and Section 317 read with Section 34 of IPC. The Prosecution argued that on going through the averments of the complaint, one can make out that the petitioner has acted as "mediator" between the complainant and accused no. 2. Further, she being a Nurse at a Government Hospital misused her position and committed the alleged offences. Moreover, if she is granted bail, there are chances of her hampering the investigation and tampering the prosecution witnesses. The High Court observed that the offences alleged against this petitioner are not punishable with death or imprisonment for life and in any case, the allegations and her involvement can be ascertained after completing the investigation and filing of the charge-sheet.It said,"The petitioner is ready to cooperate with the police in the investigation. The petitioner is a woman. There are no criminal antecedents of this petitioner. The main apprehension of the prosecution is that, if the petitioner is granted bail, she will hamper the investigation and tamper the prosecution witnesses. The said objection can be met by imposing stringent conditions." Accordingly, it granted anticipatory bail on execution of a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh, with one surety for the likesum to the satisfaction of the Investigating Officer. It also imposed other conditions. Case Title: ASHWINI GANAPATI HARIKANTRA v. STATE OF KARNATAKA Case No: CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 103215 OF 2022 Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (kar) 462 Date of Order: 9TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2022 Appearance: PRASHANT S. KADADEVAR, ADVOCATE for petitioner; PRASHANTH V. MOGALI, HCGP FOR R1 AND R2. Click Here To Read/Download Order

Karnataka High Court Grants Pre-Arrest Bail To Govt Hospital Nurse Accused Of Facilitating Infant's Sale

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