The Kerala High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea filed by Mohammed Farmaan, the husband of the viral Kumbh Mela girl, seeking an extension of the one-month transit anticipatory bail granted to him in a POCSO case registered in Madhya Pradesh.

Farmaan moved the High Court after the jurisdictional POCSO Court at Mandleshwar, Madhya Pradesh, rejected his anticipatory bail plea on Wednesday. He sought an additional 15 days of protection from arrest to enable him to approach the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Justice Kauser Edappagath dismissed the application, holding that it was not maintainable. In its order, the court noted that it had earlier granted Farmaan liberty to approach the jurisdictional court in Madhya Pradesh and seek anticipatory bail within one month. During that period, he was also protected from arrest.

The court observed that Farmaan had already used the liberty granted to him by approaching the jurisdictional court, where his anticipatory bail application was dismissed on July 1. It said the present application seeking a further 15-day extension to approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was not maintainable and dismissed it.

During the hearing, Justice Kauser orally remarked that transit anticipatory bail is meant only to enable an accused to approach the court having jurisdiction. Once that court passes an order, whether in favour of the accused or against him, the jurisdiction of the transit bail court comes to an end.

"The protection is only to facilitate you to approach the jurisdictional court and seek anticipatory bail. Once you approach that court and get an order, this court's jurisdiction is over. You have to approach the High Court there. I have already exercised my jurisdiction to the maximum by granting one month's time," the judge orally observed.

Senior Advocate Gopalakrishna Kurup, appearing for Farmaan, argued that there was no legal bar preventing the High Court from extending the protection until his client could file an appeal or a fresh bail plea before the Madhya Pradesh HC.

Kurup told the court that the case involved "peculiar circumstances". He also pointed to a writ petition pending before the Madhya Pradesh HC, which seeks restoration of the girl's birth certificate. According to Farmaan, the birth certificate was allegedly forged to show the girl as a minor and falsely implicate him.

Responding to the submissions, Justice Kauser clarified that he was not examining the merits of the criminal case. He said transit anticipatory bail was an extraordinary remedy and that he had already exercised the powers available to him by granting one month's protection. He added that if he had jurisdiction, he would have considered extending the protection, but he could not exceed the limits of his authority.

Last month, the Kerala High Court had granted Farmaan one month's transit anticipatory bail to enable him to approach the competent courts in Madhya Pradesh for regular anticipatory bail.

According to the prosecution, Farmaan is accused of offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, and various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including abduction and forgery.

The prosecution alleges that the girl was a minor at the time of the marriage and that Farmaan obtained the marriage certificate through forgery. The case was registered in Madhya Pradesh based on a complaint filed by the girl's father.
(With LiveLaw inputs)