SHILLONG, July 20: The High Court of Meghalaya on Wednesday used its inherent powers to give relief to a man against whom a POCSO case was registered after it was established that he was living with a minor girl as husband and wife and that the girl was pregnant with his child.
Convinced that the case has to be looked at pragmatically, the court quashed an FIR and criminal proceedings in the POCSO case registered against the man.
The verdict was announced after the hearing of an application under Section 482 CrPC with a prayer before the Court to invoke its inherent power to set aside and quash the FIR dated May 14, 2021, filed before the Officer-in-Charge of Pynursla Police Station, East Khasi Hills.
The FIR, filed by the girl’s mother, stated that her daughter, who is about 17 years and 7 months, had an affair with the man since 2020, and with the consent of the family, they got married and stayed together as husband and wife. However, on May 13, 2021, the police of Pynursla PS came to the mother’s house and advised her to lodge an FIR against her son-in-law on the basis of information received from Pynursla Community Health Centre that her minor daughter was found to be pregnant from an underage marriage, which is against the law.
Being so compelled, she lodged the said FIR against her wishes.
A criminal case under POCSO Act was registered and on completion of the investigation and filing of the charge sheet, the case was taken up by Special Judge (POCSO), Shillong.
In a statement, the minor girl has categorically stated that she is now staying with the man as husband and wife in her mother’s house with the consent of the families of both sides.
In its judgment, the High Court said that certain practical aspects of a case have to be considered notwithstanding the rigors of the law under the provisions of the POCSO Act.
“The POCSO Act speaks of penetrative sexual assault and aggravated penetrative sexual assault to indicate that an act of sexual penetration inflicted upon a minor will attract the punishment for the same under the relevant provisions of the said Act. However, in a case where other attending factors such as a case of consensual sex or sex within the bond of marriage albeit between persons who are still minors or one of whom is a minor, are not taken into account in the correct perspective, the course or cause of justice may not have been served, but only the letter of the law fulfilled,” the court said.
“This is precisely the case here where a minor girl who is living with a man as husband and wife with the blessings of the family members, has to witness her husband being prosecuted under the POCSO Act only because of her age being under 18 years. In fact, in the present case, the age of the minor girl is said to be about 17 years and 7 months which is only about 5 months less than 18 years at the time of reportage of the alleged offence,” the court order said.
Allowing the petition, the court added, “This will meet the ends of justice as is inherently found in this Court’s exercise of the power under Section 482 CrPC.”
