Bail denied to coach accused of sexually assaulting 13-yr-old

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has decided to deny bail to a 57-year-old Basketball coach, who stands accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl during training, noting that such a betrayal of trust may go on to inhibit the child from having healthy interpersonal relationships in the future.

The court said, "Paramount consideration is to be given to the well-being of the child whose mental psyche is vulnerable, impressionable and in a developing stage. The long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse are, at many times, insurmountable. An act of sexual assault or sexual harassment, therefore, has the potential to cause mental trauma to the child and may dictate their thought process for the years to come. It may hinder the normal social growth of the child and lead to various psychosocial problems which could require psychological intervention."

The accused in the case, who is also a Group-A officer working with the Sports Authority of India, faces charges under Section 354-B of the IPC and Section 10 of the POCSO Act.

According to the prosecution, the alleged incident occurred when the girl was exercising during training and was allegedly groped by the accused. The victim has alleged that the accused wrapped his hands around her stomach and then allegedly touched her inappropriately. She then recounted the alleged incident to her parents, who filed the police complaint.

In addition to arguing that the allegations against him were a figment of the victim's imagination, the accused has argued through his lawyer that he was in the category of high-risk inmates in light of Covid-19 due to his health condition and that this must be considered for bail.

The court of Justice Subramonium Prasad said that there appeared to be no reason for the prosecutrix to level false allegations against the accused as the prosecution argued that granting bail, in this case, could lead to the accused trying to contact the victim.

The court noted that the accused's wife also taught at the victim's school and despite the assurance that she is willing to leave the job, the court decided against granting bail.

"The Petitioner, being the Basketball Coach of the prosecutrix and also known to the parents of the prosecutrix, can be stated to be in a position of trust or authority of a child, as per Section 9(p) of the POCSO Act. The relationship between the Prosecutrix and the Petitioner is, therefore, fiduciary in nature. In such cases, betrayal of trust at an early stage of life may inhibit the child from developing healthy interpersonal relationships in the future," the court noted.