Baramulla, May 12: A court in Baramulla on Tuesday granted bail to lecturer Ghulam Hassan Mir alias Azhar, who was arrested in connection with a sexual harassment case involving a girl student in Sopore.
The case pertains to FIR No. 90/2026 registered under Section 75 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 9/10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The allegations had surfaced earlier this month at Government Girls Higher Secondary School Sopore, triggering protests and widespread outrage in the area. Following the incident, Sopore Police registered a case and arrested the accused lecturer.
Senior Superintendent of Police Sopore, Iftikhar Talib, had earlier confirmed the registration of the FIR, while the Director of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) placed the lecturer under suspension after the allegations surfaced.
Amid the protests that erupted after the incident, six persons were also detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for their alleged involvement in vandalism and damage to public property during demonstrations in Sopore.
The accused lecturer was represented before the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Baramulla, by United Law Firm through Advocates Sameer Hussain Dar, Nazir Ahmad Dar, and Aamir Nazir. The defence challenged the prosecution’s case and argued that the allegations were not supported by the material collected during the investigation.
According to the defence counsel, the statements recorded during the investigation did not disclose any incriminating role of the accused. The counsel further argued that continued incarceration without substantive material was unjustified.
After hearing arguments from both sides and examining the material placed on record, the court granted bail to the accused lecturer.
The defence counsel maintained that criminal jurisprudence is based on the principle that no individual can be declared guilty merely based on public sentiment, controversy, or media trial, and that personal liberty cannot be curtailed in the absence of credible incriminating material.
