‘जब कपल खुश, तो केस चलाना वक्त की बर्बादी’, POCSO और रेप केस में बड़ी राहत – allahabad high court major relief if couple happy why POCSO rape cases mdsb ntc
Allahabad High Court has said in an important decision that if the victim and the accused are living a happy married life by mutual consent, then it is not justified to continue criminal proceedings in such cases. Making this comment, the bench of Justice Vivek Kumar Singh canceled the charge sheet and the entire proceedings of the POCSO and rape case registered against the accused.
The court found that the victim in her statement denied any kind of crime and said that she lived with the accused voluntarily.
The court also acknowledged that continuing the case could have a negative impact on their marital life and the future of their child.
What has the High Court said?
This order of the High Court has been given by the single bench of Justice Vivek Kumar Singh on the petition of a person named Akash. The court has ordered to cancel the charge sheet filed against the petitioner and the entire criminal case proceedings.
In the year 2018, the father of the victim girl had lodged an FIR against accused Akash in Rajpura police station, Sambhal district on charges of kidnapping and rape of a minor. It was alleged that his 13-year-old minor daughter had been lured away by the accused. The police had filed the charge sheet after investigation.
A new twist in the case came when the victim, in her statements given before the police and magistrate, denied any kind of crime or coercion on her. The victim clearly said that she had gone with the accused of her own free will and both of them got married in a court in Ghaziabad. The victim described herself as an adult and expressed her desire to live with the accused as his wife.
According to the medical report, the age of the victim was found to be around 18 years and no injury marks were found on her body. Their marriage was registered on 3 July 2018 and their daughter was born in December 2018, who is currently around 7 years old.
Citing several decisions of the Supreme Court, the High Court said that if the victim has voluntarily decided to live with the accused and is not supporting the prosecution, then continuing the trial would be just a waste of time.
The court found that the victim did not make any allegations against the accused even during her testimony in the lower court. Apart from this, the victim’s father also filed a compromise letter and told the court that now he does not have to take any further action in this case. The court also said that if the accused is punished at this level, it will have a devastating impact on the marital life of the victim and the future of their child.
The High Court held that the basic elements of kidnapping, rape or POCSO were not present in this case because the victim was a consenting party. In the interest of justice and to prevent abuse of legal process, the court completely canceled the special session trial and the related charge sheet pending in the Sambhal court.
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