MUMBAI: Two years after a Bhiwandi youth was arrested for allegedly raping his 16-year-old neighbour, the Bombay high court recently released him on bail after the DNA of the child born to the survivor did not match that of the accused. Justice Revati Dere ordered that the accused, Vikas Mali, be released on a personal bond of Rs 15,000.Mali was booked under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code for rape and for aggravated sexual assault under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( Pocso ). If convicted, he faces a minimum punishment of seven years in jail and a maximum of life imprisonment."The DNA report received from the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in September 2017 shows that the accused is not the biological father of the child that was born to the victim. He is in custody for almost two years. The investigation is complete and a chargesheet has been filed," said the judge, adding that in light of "the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case", the accused deserves bail.Mali was arrested in March 2016, after the survivor, a minor, alleged he sexually assaulted her. In her complaint, she claimed that the accused had expressed his love for her and had taken her to his house to have physical relations. She alleged that he had assured her that he would marry her and had sexual relations with her again (September 2015), following which she became pregnant. She delivered a child in June 2016.Mali claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case and there was a delay in lodging the FIR. His bail had been rejected by the Thane sessions court twice. The DNA results were not available with this court.The trial court had observed: “The victim was a minor at the time of incident. Out of the physical relations between the victim and the accused she has delivered a child. The offence is serious; for these reasons the accused is not entitled to be released on bail.” The high court, releasing Mali on bail, restrained him from entering the village the girl resides at or making any attempts to threaten witnesses or tamper with evidence.