Bombay HC: Minor's Consent Or Marriage With Family Approval No Ground To Quash POCSO Case

Mumbai: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has held that neither a love affair between a minor girl and an adult man, nor the fact that their families permitted the marriage and she subsequently gave birth to a child, can be grounds to quash criminal proceedings under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Plea Rejected

A bench of Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Nandesh Deshpande dismissed a plea filed by a 29-year-old man and his parents seeking to quash an FIR lodged against them under the POCSO Act and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

Details of Marriage

According to the prosecution, the man married the girl on June 2, 2024, as per Muslim rites, with the consent of both families. At the time, she was below 18 years of age and later delivered a child while still a minor.

Court Observations

“Though she states that the said marriage was as per the Muslim rites and religion, but at the time of marriage, she was below 18 years of age. When she delivered the child at the relevant time also, she was below 18 years of age,” the bench noted.

Accused Aware of Minor’s Age

The court observed that the accused, who was 27 at the time of the marriage and is now 29, was fully aware of the girl’s age. “At least, he ought to have understood that he should wait till the girl attains 18 years of age. Then in spite of having knowledge that the girl is minor, when he takes her away from the legal custody of her parents, from that point itself he commits the offence. Merely because now the girl has given birth to the child, we are of the opinion that the acts of the applicants cannot be brushed aside,” the judges said.

Reference to Supreme Court PIL

The bench also referred to the Supreme Court’s ongoing suo motu public interest litigation on the “Right to Privacy of Adolescents”, where the Union government has categorically opposed reducing the age of consent.

In its affidavit, the Centre has maintained that lowering the age “would disturb the very purpose for which the POCSO Act was enacted” and would reintroduce the mischief the law seeks to prevent.

Legal Standing

“As the consent of the minor is irrelevant and the stand taken by the Central Government before the Apex Court also shows that it would be against the mandate of the Constitution of India, as law is not for the individuals but for society at large,” the bench remarked.

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Bench Verdict

Holding that justice must be done according to law, the court ruled there were no exceptional circumstances warranting interference under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code. “We, therefore, do not find this to be a fit case… The application stands rejected,” the bench concluded.

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