Chandigarh : January 11, 2018“ We are pained that my brother remained in prison for five months in a false and fabricated case. This bail is nothing for us to rejoice or feel happy about,” said Jaideep, cousin of Vikas Barala on hearing the news that Vikas got regular unconditional bail from the Punjab & Haryana High Court today after remaining for five long months in prison in the infamous Varnika Kundu case, wherein 30 year old amateurish Disk Jockey (DJ) daughter of senior IAS officer Virender Kundu had levelled allegation of attempted kidnapping and stalking on 22 year old Vikas Barala.
The complainant’s lawyer opposed the bail application by claiming that the witnesses may be influenced, which was snubbed down by Justice Lisa Gill. Vikas lawyer stressed that even if all the allegations of Varnika were taken as gospel truth still no offence of Kidnapping was made out. He mentioned that the necessary ingredients for attracting the rigors of kidnapping, i.e. section 362 IPC are that there must be forcible compulsion or inducement by deceitful means; and the object of such compulsion or inducement must be the going of a person from any place. However in the present case both these ingredients were absent.
It may be recalled that on August 5th 2017 DJ Varnika alleged that she felt that a vehicle was following her and that she felt that it was trying to stalk her and subsequently she felt that the occupant of the vehicle might kidnap her too. She did not allege any teasing or any other thing which could make a case for molestation, etc. On the basis of this apprehension and fear in the mind of Varnika, a case of stalking was registered against Vikas and his friend Ashish by Chandigarh Police. Subsequently under extreme bureaucratic and media pressure, the investigating agency added section 365 IPC. Both Vikas and Ashish were granted bail on 5th August itself as the offence as made out on the basis of the complaint were found to be bailable. However, the whole incident took a political colour since Vikas Barala’s father happens to be the BJP Chief of Haryana. With all anti BJP political heavy-weights jumping in, the case became a media trial. Under immense media pressure, both Vikas and Ashish were summoned again to police station by sending summons to their house at 01:30 a.m. in night on 9th of August and thereafter rearrested both of them on 9th afternoon. Since then Vikas and Ashish have been inside prison and the lower court have been too cautious to even grant bail to them.
Vikas’s lawyer alleges that all this was without considering the actual ingredients of these sections. Even ingredients of offence under section 341 IPC were not made out. He mentioned that “It is beyond comprehension as to how a single vehicle could block a wide road in Chandigarh. A vehicle can pass from the side even if a vehicle is parked in front of it, especially at the hour at which the alleged incident is stated to have taken place. It is further significant to state here that in the FIR it has been stated that the complainant stopper her car at Housing Board Traffic lights as there were other vehicles which had stopped there. It is thus clear that the petitioner did not stop the complainant and did not obstruct her way.” He further claimed that “The investigating agency had added section 354-D IPC without applying its mind. For attracting Section 354-D IPC, it is necessary that a man follows a woman and contacts or attempts to contact such woman to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman. In the present case, there is no such allegation in the complaint which forms basis of the FIR.”
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