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A 23-year-old man who had been in custody since October 15, 2021 has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court this week. He was around 20-years-old when he was tried under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) after being accused of establishing a physical relationship with a minor girl on the pretense of marrying her.
The girl, who was a little over the age of 17 years, then discovered that she was pregnant and that it was too late for her to go ahead with the abortion as per her medical examination.
Justice Vikas Mahajan had observed that their physical relationship was of their own will and that the girl had “sufficient maturity and intellectual capacity”. She was in a consensual romantic relationship with the accused.
Further, the court said that it is more harmful for the boy to be kept in the jail alongside the presence of hardened criminals. This will not serve any useful purpose to the accused and will do him more harm than good.
The girl had stated in her statement recorded by the court that the FIR which was lodged against the boy was not at her own will. Rather, it was lodged at the insistence of her family members who were possibly feeling ashamed or embarrassed after having found out about her pregnancy and the inability to abort as this pregnancy had surpassed its stage of termination.
Similar case with the accused being granted a bail
Justice Anuja Prabhudessai had commented that the intention of the POCSO Act was never to brand those who were accused as criminals when in reality, they were actually in a consensual relationship as opposed to the real intention of applying the above act to safeguard the minors below the 18 years of age against facing sexual exploitation.
The High court based in Dehradun had granted bail to a 25-year-old in July this year. He was from Bareilly and was filed under the POCSO Act by the victim’s father. He was charged with offences like rape and kidnapping of the girl due to her disappearance from the Transit Camp Area.
The FIR was filed on April 22, 2021 when the victim was 18 years of age as per her statement submitted to the court thereby proving that she was an adult at the time the complaint against the accused was filed. She also reported that she had then married the guy who was accused and they have a daughter together.
