Karnataka HC quashes POCSO case after accused marries rape victim; criminal proceedings can be revived if mother, child are abandoned

The accused’s counsel argued that the man and the victim were actually in love with each other and the crime had been registered after the parents agreed to the marriage. They further argued that the family members on both sides have now come forward to get the two married. The counsel for the state argued that the case should not be quashed as it was a heinous offence, punishable by ten years, and the matter should be taken to trial.

The bench observed that after the accused had obtained interim bail, he and the victim got married on June 21 and registered the same shortly after. The man then returned to custody. It was stated that the question was whether the proceedings could be quashed on account of the compromise.

The court issued the following order, “Owing to peculiar facts of the case of the petitioner and the victim getting married and the child born from the alleged act. The new born would not be aware of the happenings narrated hereinabove. If the issue is not compounded and the petitioner is released, the mother and the child would be left in the lurch and their fate in dire straits.”

“After marriage, the petitioner is back to the gaol. If the proceedings are not quashed, it would undoubtedly result in grave jeopardy to the life of the mother and the child, who will have to face ignominy at the hands of the society…This Court cannot shut its eyes to ground realities and permit the process in the criminal trial to conclude as it is the process that generates agony till the end.”