Delhi HC stays POCSO case against man who married victim, says ‘extraordinary circumstances’
Last Updated on November 27, 2024 by NewsDesk SLC
The Delhi High Court closed a 2012 POCSO case against a man, saying the girl he married, whose father had filed a complaint, had “nothing against” him and the “exceptional circumstances” of the couple raising two. children whose future depended on the outcome of the FIR.
Hearing the man’s plea to quash the FIR, the court observed that the girl had claimed that she voluntarily accompanied the appellant and married him and was 19 years old at the relevant time.
The FIR, which led to the complainant being charged with the alleged offense of kidnapping under the IPC and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO, was registered after the girl’s father reported her missing in January 2012.
The girl says the relationship was consensual; now married, have children
“The parties were blessed with two children aged 7 and 5. The public prosecutor has not stated anything against the present accused/complainant either before the police or before the judge,” Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said in a recent order. “Under the exceptional circumstances as such where the parties have been living together for a long time and have now been blessed with two minor children whose future depends on the outcome of this FIR, the court deems it fit to quash these proceedings,” the court ruled.
Delhi HC: POCSO not meant to criminalize consensual relationships
In a landmark judgment last month, the Delhi HC unequivocally affirmed that POCSO was intended to protect children from sexual exploitation but was never meant to criminalize consensual romantic relationships between young adults. However, he cautioned that the nature of the relationship must be seen from the facts and circumstances of each case, as the survivor may in some cases face pressure to settle.
