Karnataka High Court has made a big comment on POCSO i.e. Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses.
The court says that POCSO does not mean to criminalize consensual relations between two teenagers.
The High Court quashed the criminal case against a 21-year-old man for marrying a minor girl.
The High Court says that POCSO is to protect teenagers from sexual exploitation.
The court said, ‘POCSO is meant to protect minors from sexual exploitation and not to criminalize consensual relations between two teenagers who had consensual sex without knowing the consequences.’
Cases were registered against the accused under IPC, POCSO and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.
The court said that the accused and the minor girl come from the lower socio-economic class of the society and have limited information. The court said that they were not aware of the consequences of their actions.
what was the matter
According to Bar & Bench report, according to the information given by Bengaluru Police, the accused knew that the girl was a minor, yet he married the girl and had sexual relations with her.
At present, the girl is 16 years old. Now the accused approached the Supreme Court regarding this matter and demanded quashing of the criminal case.
The accused told the court that he was in a relationship with the girl and everything happened with consent.
Here, an affidavit was also given in the court on behalf of the girl and her parents, in which it was told that the marriage took place unknowingly and in ignorance of the law. The court was informed that a son was born out of marriage last year.
According to the report, it was argued before the court that sending the accused to jail would worsen the situation. It was also told that both the girl and the newborn are dependent on the accused for their livelihood. Here, the state opposed the petition and termed the crime as heinous.
After the hearing, the court found that the girl’s parents said that they were unable to support her due to being financially weak.
The court said, ‘The petitioner is in judicial custody and is unable to work for the victim and the child. If the criminal proceedings are allowed to continue, the victim and the child will face further hardships rather than justice.
The court also said that having sex with a minor is a crime, but considering the facts and circumstances of the case, it is appropriate to quash the proceedings.
Besides, the court also ordered the petitioner to be released from judicial custody.