Serious and heinous offences under POCSO Act cannot be quashed based solely on settlement between parties.

O R D E R

(Dated this the 24th day of February, 2026)

The sole accused in Crime No. 1047 of 2025 of Kattakada Police Station filed this petition under Section 528 BNSS praying for quashing all further proceedings against him. The offences alleged against the petitioner are under Sections 138 , 64(2)(m), 75(1)(ii) of BNS and Sections 4 (1), 3(a), 8,7, 10,9, 12,11(i) and 11(iv) of POCSO Act .

2. The prosecution case is that the accused with the intention to satisfy his sexual lust made friendship with the defacto complainant who was a minor, through instagram, took her to various places, committed penetrative sexual assault and thereafter, refused to marry her and thereby, he is alleged to have committed the aforesaid offences.

3. According to the learned Counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner was ready to marry the defacto complainant and it was the defacto complainant who evaded the proposed marriage. Further according to the learned Counsel, it is a false case forged against the petitioner. The learned Counsel also submitted that now the petitioner is suffering from severe depressive espisode with psychiatric symptoms and he is undergoing treatment from Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama Charitable Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. Therefore, he prayed for quashing all further proceedings against the petitioner.

4. The petition was strongly opposed by the learned Public prosecutor. Though notice was served on the 2^nd respondent/ defacto complainant, she did not turn up but she had filed an affidavit stating that the dispute between herself and the petitioner has been settled and that she has no objection in quashing the proceedings against the petitioner. It is also revealed that now the defacto complainant married another person.

5. The law is well settled that serious and heinous offences like murder, rape and dacoity cannot be settled even if the parties settled the dispute among themselves. In the instant case, the offence involved are under Sections138, 64(2)(m), 75(1)(ii) of BNS and Sections 4 (1), 3(a), 8,7, 10,9, 12,11(i) and 11(iv) of POCSO Act which are very serious and henious in nature. It is true that the defacto complainat filed affidavit stating that the matter has been settled with the petitioner. Since the offences involved in this case are serious and heinous in nature on the mere reason that now it is settled between the parties, the same cannot be quashed.

In the above circumstances, this Crl.MC is only to be dismissed and accordingly, it is dismissed.

Sd/-