POCSO Cases Being Filed By Girl's Family Who Object To Her Romantic Relationship, Young Boys Languishing In Jails: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has observed that POCSO Act is being “misapplied” as cases are being filed at the behest of the girl's family who object to her “friendship and romantic involvement” with a young boy.
Justice Subramonium Prasad said that in such cases, young boys, who have genuinely fallen in love with girls who are just below 18 years of age, are languishing in jails.
The court made the observations while granting bail to a youngster who is in jail for the last three years in a POCSO case registered in 2021 by a girl's mother. The FIR was lodged under Sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (abduction) and 376 (rape) of IPC and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act. At the time of incident, the girl was 17 year old whereas the boy was 21 year old.
During investigation, it was found that the girl had went missing from her home twice but later she had returned back home. The probe further revealed that she was living with the accused and was found in December 2021.
In her statement to the doctors, the girl said that she had gone with the accused, who was her boyfriend, of her own free will, after which they got married and she later became pregnant. Similar statement was given by her in her statement to the police.
However, in her statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C, the girl stated that the accused took her to a room and committed rape on her.
Granting bail to the accused, the court noted that it was a case of love affair between the two individuals, while taking judicial notice of the fact that she had eloped from her house twice and had returned back.
It further noted that after the girl was found and returned to her parents, she would have been pressurized by her parents to change her statement.
“The statement given by the Prosecutrix before the doctors that her mother knew about her relationship with the Petitioner and that the FIR has been lodged by her mother only because the Petitioner herein had refused to change his religion, gives an indication that the present FIR was lodged at the behest of the parents of the Prosecutrix who did not approve of the relationship between the Petitioner and the Prosecutrix,” the court said.
It further observed that if the accused continued to be in jail, the chances of him coming out as a hardened criminal were very high and that future of a youngster cannot be ignored by the court at this juncture.
“Accordingly, considering the facts and circumstances of the present case, and also considering the age of the Prosecutrix and the Petitioner herein, the fact that the Prosecutrix has changed her stand in her statements and the fact that she has been found missing on two earlier occasions as well, and also the fact that the Petitioner is not of such strata that he would be in a position to influence the Prosecutrix, this Court is inclined to grant bail to the Petitioner…,” it said.
Title: SAHIL v. THE STATE NCT OF DELHI