SHILLONG:
A single bench of the Meghalaya High Court has set aside the FIR and quashed proceedings before the trial court in a POCSO case.
It may be mentioned that the accused was living together with a minor girl as husband and wife.
The bench of Justice W Diengdoh stated that notwithstanding the rigors of the law under the provisions of the POCSO Act, certain practical aspects of a case have to be considered.
According to the court, 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 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 stated.
It pointed out that 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.
The court stated that 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 said that it was convinced that the case of the petitioners must be looked at pragmatically and gave relief to the parties.
“This will meet the ends of justice as is inherently found in this Court’s exercise of the power under Section 482 Cr.P.C,” it said.