Bombay High Court Quashed Proclamation Order Against Police Naik Accused Of Raping Lady Police Naik, Says At Least 30 Days’ Notice Needed For Court Appearance

The Bombay High Court in the case Deepak Sitaram Modhe v. State of Maharashtra observed and has quashed a proclamation order against a Police Naik for allegedly absconding after raping and threatening a female Police Naik who used to work with him.

The bench headed by Justice Sarang V Kotwal in the case observed and has stated that the accused has to be given at least 30 days to appear from the date of publication of the proclamation, as per section 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, CrPC.

The court in the case observed that all the above three orders have taken this provision into consideration and in all these orders it is mentioned that the period cannot be less than 30.
The court passed the order on November 29, 2023 and the court directed by the appellant to appear on December 04, 2023.

Therefore, the court stated that the said court is inclined to take a similar view which is taken in all the aforesaid orders.
In the present case, the applicant Deepak Sitaram Modhe, challenged the order dated November 29, 2023 issued by JMFC, Pune.

The court issued the order of proclamation under Section 82 of the CrPC against the applicant, who is the original accused in a case registered at Khadak police station, Pune.
However, the complainant, the Female Police Naik, filed a case against Deepak Modhe, a Police Naik at Khadak Police Station. Thus, they worked together from the year 2016 to 2022 and despite the complainant’s refusal, Modhe allegedly persisted with marriage proposals.

The court observed that during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, he allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted the complainant, blackmailing her with explicit photos and videos.
Therefore, Modhe allegedly continued unnatural relations, used derogatory language, and threatened to expose her. Thus, it has been alleged by the complainant that he coerced her into divorcing her husband, made thefts from her house on October 20, 2023, and threatened her with physical harm and death.

The counsel, Additional Public Prosecutor Sangita Shinde acknowledged the validity of the cited orders and suggested that if the current order was set aside, the investigating agency could be given the opportunity to pursue this remedy afresh.

The court stated that the impugned order mentioned the issuance of an arrest warrant against the applicant on November 24, 2023, with the subsequent proclamation issued on November 29, 2023 wherein directing him to appear 4 days later on December 04, 2023.
It has also been pointed out by judge that Section 82(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, CrPC mandates a specific time not less than 30 days from the date of publishing the proclamation.

The court while considering the facts and circumstances of the case observed and has set aside the impugned order, emphasizing that the court could initiate a fresh process for issuing a proclamation in accordance with the statutory requirements.
Accordingly, the court granted the investigating agency the liberty to take appropriate steps to secure the presence of the applicant in accordance with the law.