The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court observed that “a murderer destroys the physical body of a victim, but a rapist destroys the very soul,” while granting bail to a man accused of rape.

Justice Mohd Yousuf Wani was hearing the bail plea of a man who had been in custody since December 2024 for sexual assault. The court noted that the offence was heinous and anti-social, and that society views such acts with extreme disapproval.
However, the judge considered that the accused had already spent over a year in custody, the trial was underway, and the survivor’s statement had been recorded. The court found no apprehension that the accused could influence the survivor or obstruct the trial.
The accused was initially booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2019, which was later replaced by Section 376 (rape) of the Ranbir Penal Code after the survivor was determined to be an adult. His counsel argued that subsequent changes in the survivor’s statement were exaggerated and that the rape allegation arose only after the POCSO charge could not be sustained.
The prosecution opposed bail, citing the heinous nature of the crime and the potential influence of the accused over witnesses, arguing that mere detention did not entitle him to bail.
The High Court granted bail, balancing the accused’s constitutional rights against the ongoing trial process.
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