The Bombay High Court has rejected the bail plea of a school bus driver who was arrested in 2023 for sexually assaulting a minor girl student. The court noted that the offence was “serious, grave and heinous”.
Justice Madhav Jamdar, on March 20, said the accused, who was the driver of a school bus, was entrusted with the duty to ferry children from and to school and home safely. His conduct in stopping the bus, taking the girl to a secluded spot and then sexually assaulting her is a very “serious, grave and heinous” offence, Justice Jamdar said.
The court rejected his bail plea but directed the trial to conclude trial in the case expeditiously.
The driver sought bail contending that he has been in jail since March 2023 and has completed one-third of the maximum sentence that can be imposed on him, if convicted.
According to the prosecution, the school bus driver sexually assaulted the victim girl, who was studying in standard two.
The offence is serious and a child of just eight years had been sexually assaulted, the court noted. It added that even while granting bail on the grounds of long incarceration, the court has to take into consideration the nature and gravity of the offence committed. “The material on record clearly shows the involvement of the applicant accused in a very serious and heinous crime where the girl child of eight years has been subjected to sexual assault,” the court said while dismissing his bail plea.
