Criminal proceedings under the POCSO Act and IPC for sexual offences may be quashed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. if the parties have genuinely married and settled the dispute, to prevent the ruin of a family and avoid abuse of process.

THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S.482 CR.P.C PRAYING TO QUASH THE FIR IN CRIME NO.26/2024 LATER REGISTERED AS SPL.S.C.NO.80/2024 ON THE FILE OF THE ADDL DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE AND FTSC I (POCSO) CHIKKABALLAPURA FOR THE OFFENCES P/U/S/ 376(2)(n) OF IPC AND SEC.5(J)(ii), 5(L), 6 OF POCSO ACT 2012 AT ANNEXURE A COUPLED.

THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA

ORAL ORDER

Petitioner, the sole accused is before this Court calling in question proceedings in Spl.SC.No.80/2024, pending before the Additional District and Sessions Judge and FTSC-I (POCSO), Chikkaballapur, for the offences punishable under Sections 376(2)(n) of the IPC and Sections 5(j)(ii), 5(l) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, on the score that the petitioner – accused and the daughter of respondent No.2 are married.

2. Heard Sri Devendra N., learned counsel for petitioner, Sri B.N.Jagadeesha, learned Additional State Public Prosecutor and Sri Srinath B.V., learned counsel for respondent No.2.

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

On 09.04.2024, a crime comes to be registered against the petitioner in Crime No.26/2024, for the afore-quoted offences by the victim girl – the daughter of respondent No.2. At the relevant point in time, the daughter of respondent No.2 - victim was 17 years old. Later, it transpires that the petitioner and the daughter of respondent No.2 get married on 08.08.2025 and the same is registered before the Registrar of Marriages, Bagepalli. The couple as on today, have two children.

4. On the aforesaid facts, the petitioner is before this Court seeking permission to compound the offences. The petitioner, the daughter of respondent No.2 and respondent No.2 have filed separate affidavits seeking permission to compound the offences before this Court.

5. In the light of the fact that the marriage between the petitioner and daughter of respondent No.2 has already taken place and the petitioner, daughter of respondent No.2 and respondent No.2 have filed their affidavits seeking permission to compound the offences, I deem it appropriate to accept the same and obliterate the crime / quash the proceedings pending against the petitioner.

6. The Apex Court in the case of MAHESH MUKUND¹[2025 SCC Online SC 614] PATEL v. STATE OF U.P. AND OTHERS has held as follows:

5. On the last date, we had directed learned counsel appearing for the State to get the marriage certificate relied upon by the parties duly verified. Accordingly, an affidavit has been filed by Dr. Atul Tripathi, ACP, Sarnath in which it is stated that the marriage certificate has been verified and it is found to be genuine and in fact a true copy thereof has been produced along with the affidavit.

6. Our attention is invited to the affidavit filed by the third respondent in which she has accepted the fact that she is happily married to the appellant and they have been residing together. She has disclosed her date of birth as 20th July, 1998. In the record of the Primary School, as can be seen from document at Annexure ‘P-1’, the date of birth of the third respondent is shown as 20th July, 1998. Ossification test was conducted during the investigation. The report of the test is that on the date of commission of the offence, the age of the third respondent may be between 17½ years to 19 years. There are documents on record to show that the date of birth of the third respondent was 20th July, 1998. Therefore, when the offence was allegedly committed in September, 2016 she was already a major.