IMPORTANT POINT
The judgment establishes that while the POCSO Act is crucial for protecting children, there is a significant need to prevent its misuse, particularly in familial contexts, and to ensure that false accusations do not lead to wrongful imprisonment.

ORDER :

1. These applications highlight the plight of the so-called predators in the present crimes, who have become the actual victims of an orchestrated act of retribution by the so-called victim, and it demonstrates the perilous consequences that can arise due to the false accusations made by a victim.

2. The two cousin brothers of the victim, who endeavoured to intervene in her love affair and have been incarcerated for the past two months, seek to get themselves enlarged on bail.

3. B.A No. 5425 of 2024 is filed by the accused in crime No. 451 of 2024, which is registered against him by the Thadiyittaparamba Police Station, Ernakulam, for allegedly committing the offences punishable under Sections 354 and 376(2)(f) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’, in short,) and Sections 3(b) r/w 4(1), 5(n) r/w 6, 9(n) r/w 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (‘POCSO Act’ for brevity).

4. B.A No. 5168 of 2024 is filed by the accused in crime No. 452 of 2024 of the same Police Station, which is registered against him for allegedly committing the offences punishable under Sections 376(2)(f), 376(3), 509 and 451 of the IPC and Sections 3(a) r/w 4(2), 5(l) r/w 6(1), 11(i) r/w 12 of the POCSO Act. As the victim is the same in the two crimes, the applications were consolidated, jointly heard and are being disposed of by this common order.

5. The prosecution allegation, in brief, in crime No. 451 of 2024 is that; the accused (a 20-year-old boy) and the cousin brother of the victim (a 17-year-old girl), had, in the month of February 2023, entered her house and groped her breasts and inserted his finger into her genitals. Thus, he committed rape, aggravated sexual assault and outraged the modesty of the victim.

6. The crux of the prosecution case in crime No. 452 of 2024 is that; the accused (a 19-year-old boy) and another cousin brother of the victim had, in the month of August 2017, while the victim was studying in the sixth standard, committed penetrative sexual assault on her. Subsequently, on 25.03.2023, the accused again trespassed into the victim’s house and made her hold his genitals. Accordingly, he, too, committed rape, aggravated sexual assault and outraged the modesty of the victim.

7. When the applications came up for consideration on 29.07.2024, the learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned counsel for the victim submitted that the disputes between the parties have been settled. The victim, who is now a major, has filed an affidavit in B.A.No. 5425/2024, inter-alia, stating that the allegations in the crime are false and that it was out of her anger that she got the crime registered. Likewise, the victim's father has filed a similar affidavit in B.A.No. 5168/2024.

8. Considering the revelations made, this Court directed the victim to be present in Court. On her appearance, she and her parents were referred to the Family Counselling Centre, High Court of Kerala. The counsellor interacted with the victim and her parents and has reported that the victim stated that she had falsely lodged the complaints against her cousin's brothers.

9. After reading the report, I also personally interacted with the victim and her parents. The victim openly told me that she was in love with her classmate, which was objected to by the petitioners, who in turn informed her mother about the affair. Immediately, the victim’s mother stopped her schooling. It is out of this anger and to wreak vengeance on the petitioners, that she lodged the two complaints. But she did not expect that her cousin brothers would be arrested and the matter would become serious. She stated that the petitioners are innocent and have not committed the offences alleged against them. She has no grievance against the petitioners. The victim’s parents also stated that they were unaware of the complaints filed by the victim. It was only when the Police went to their residence, they learnt that their daughter had filed the complaints.

10. The above sequence of e