Mandatory reporting of offences under the POCSO Act is crucial, and failure to report is punishable, emphasizing the seriousness of non-compliance.

ORDER :

The petitioner is accused No.4 in Special Case No.2679 of 2023 pending before FTSC-1, Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru. He is knocking at the doors of this Court seeking quashment of entire proceedings registered against him in Crime No.376 of 2023 for offences punishable under Sections 17 and 21 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (‘the Act’ for short) and Section 506 r/w Section 34 of the IPC.

2. Heard Sri Tejas S., learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Sri Harish Ganapathy, learned High Court Government Pleader appearing for respondent No.1.

3. Facts, in brief, germane are as follows:-

It is the case of the prosecution that a victim aged about 11 years, son of the complainant, was studying Quran at Faizan Manik Mastan Madarasa (‘the Madarasa’ for short) and prior to four months of registration of the complaint between June 2023 to 29-09-2023 when the 11 year old boy was asleep in the second floor of the Madarasa, accused Nos.1 and 2 being the teachers in Madarasa have entered into the room, dragged the victim to the corner, removed his pant, put coconut oil into private parts of the victim and committed unnatural sexual assault. This did not happen once but went on happening on several days. The boy then resisted going back to Madarasa. It is then the father/complainant comes to know what has happened in the Madarasa and questioned the accused. The accused are said to have threatened the complainant. It is then the complaint comes to be registered against the accused for the aforesaid offences. The Police, after investigation, file a charge sheet again for the aforesaid offences against all the accused. Against accused 3 and 4 the offences alleged are the ones punishable under Sections 17 and 21 of the Act. Filing of the charge sheet has led the petitioner to the doors of this Court in the subject petition.

4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would vehemently contend that the acts done by accused Nos. 1 and 2 who are teachers in the Madarasa are undoubtedly unpardonable. But, accused Nos. 3 and 4 who are founder-trustees are dragged into the web of crime. Accused No.4 is the present petitioner. The allegation against accused No.3 and 4 is non-information of the incident. The defence of the petitioner is that he did not know what had happened and once he came to know he also fought for registration of crime. Therefore, no proceedings should be permitted to be continued against him.

5. Per contra, the learned High Court Government Pleader would refute the submissions to contend that the petitioner was well aware or what was happening or what had happened in the Madarasa. In spite thereof, he did not inform the police. The non-information has led the victim being harassed repeatedly by accused Nos. 1 and 2, the teachers. These are matters which have to be tried and the offence against the petitioner is presently laid for abetment and non-information.

6. I have given my anxious consideration to the submissions made by the respective learned counsel and have perused the material on record.

7. The afore-narrated facts are a matter of record. The complainant’s son, a boy of 11 years joins the Madarasa for studying Quran. Accused Nos. 1 and 2 are the teachers who were teaching him. The incident happens for about 3 months between June 2023 and 29-09-2023. The incident is that when the 11 years boy, son of the complainant, was asleep in a room at the second floor of Madarasa, accused Nos. 1 and 2 removed the pant of the victim, pour coconut oil into the private parts and committed unnatural sexual assault. Therefore, the offences under the IPC and the Act have emerged against accused Nos. 1 to 4. Since the entire issue has sprung from the complaint, I deem it appropriate to notice the complaint. It reads as follows:-

The Police after investigation have filed a charge sheet, summary of which, as obtaining in Column No.17, reads as follows:

Against accused Nos. 1 and 2 th