Premodaya Khakha
– Photo: Amar Ujala
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Delhi High Court on Monday rejected the bail plea of Premoday Khakha and his wife in the POCSO case. His previous bail application was also rejected by the trial court.
Former Delhi government deputy director Premoday Khakha and his wife filed an appeal in the High Court on the grounds that the Delhi Police has not filed a complete charge sheet against them. Therefore, he is entitled for default bail, he said. The accused officer, working in Delhi’s Women and Children’s Department, and his wife had approached the High Court for bail under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Justice Jyoti Singh, while rejecting the bail plea, said that the charge sheet in the case was filed on time and cognizance has also been taken as per law. Justice Singh further said that when Khakha was taken to the hospital, he failed to provide medical evidence to the investigating officers and two co-accused in the case are still absconding. He upheld the trial court’s order dismissing Khakhas’ plea.
Khakha was posted as Assistant Director in the Women and Child Development Department of Delhi Government. He was arrested by Delhi Police on August 21, 2023 and suspended from the job soon after. His wife Seema Rani was also arrested by the police for aiding and abetting Khakha in raping the victim.
According to reports, the rape allegedly took place between November 2020 and January 2021 when the girl was living with Khakha and his wife after the death of her father.
The rape came to light when the girl narrated her ordeal to a doctor at St. Stephen’s Hospital in Delhi, where she was undergoing treatment for panic attacks. She used to call Khakha as her uncle. Later the Delhi High Court took suo motu cognizance of this issue and expressed concern regarding protecting the identity of the victim.