IMPORTANT POINT
Quashing proceedings under POCSO Act is impermissible after evidence is recorded, especially in serious cases of sexual assault.

ORDER :

A. BADHARUDEEN, J.

This Criminal Miscellaneous Case has been filed under Section 528 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (`BNSS’ for short), by the victim in C.C.No.310 of 2016 on the files of Fast Track Special Court, Irinjalakuda, to quash the proceedings.

2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner/victim and the learned Public Prosecutor in detail. Perused the relevant documents.

3. In Annexure-A2, the specific allegation of the prosecution is that the victim, while studying in the 6th standard and residing along with her father, mother and grandmother at the family house, the accused, who is none other than the father of the victim, subjected the victim to sexual assault at 23.45 hours on 20.02.2016. That apart, during a day in April, 2013, the accused hugged and kissed the victim and also lifted her skirt and panties and put his finger into her vagina. The specific allegation is that starting from April, 2013 till 21.02.2016, the accused subjected the victim to aggravated penetrative sexual assaults. This is the base on which the prosecution alleges commission of offences punishable under Sections 4 r/w 3, 6 r/w 5(n)(l), 8 r/w 7 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (`POCSO Act’ for short). The further allegation is that the accused also threatened the victim that if the matter would be disclosed, she would be killed.

4. Now the victim wants to quash the proceedings after completion of the evidence and the contention raised by the victim is that, in this matter, during examination of the victim as PW1 and her mother as PW10, they were compelled to give evidence in tune with the statements recorded by the police. Therefore, the petitioner in this petition would state that the petitioner was very poor in her studies and accordingly she was referred for counseling at the school. When the Counsellor instructed the concept of `good touch and bad touch', the petitioner revealed her bitter experience from her father, before the Counsellor and pursuant to the said revelation, complaint has been filed, which led to registration of this crime. In fact, the allegations of POCSO offences committed by the father was revealed by the minor victim during counselling and thereafter the present crime was registered. During trial, the victim gave evidence as PW1 and her mother gave evidence as PW10, supporting the prosecution case. In such a case, now the victim wants to quash the proceedings on the submission that evidence, she had given as PW1 and her mother as PW10, were as told by the police and the evidence so given are not true. The learned counsel for the petitioner pressed for relief reiterating the contentions.

5. Whereas the learned Public Prosecutor zealously opposed quashment of the proceedings at the instance of the victim, involving very serious offences, where this Court while considering challenge against dismissal of a petition filed under Section 311 of Cr.P.C filed by the accused to recall PW1 and PW10, which was dismissed by the trial court, discussed the matter in extenso and dismissed the plea. Now the attempt of the petitioner is to efface the evidence she had given before the court on oath, by quashing the proceedings. According to the learned Public Prosecutor, now evidence was completed, and what remains is pronouncement of judgment; and at the fag end there was attempt on the part of the accused to avoid pronouncement of judgment on the strength of evidence given by her, by filing 311 petition, which ended in dismissal of Crl.M.C.No.9524/2023 vide order dated 05.07.2024 by this Court, as per Annexure-A2.

6. Going by the prosecution allegations at par with the present stage of the crime, it is well discernible that in this case PW1 to PW10 were examined by the prosecution and they were cross examined in detail and the entire prosecution evidence was closed on completion of the prosecution evidence. The accused filed CMP 931/2023 to recall PW1 and PW10 on the submission that at the t