IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED : 07.06.2022

CORAM

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.SATHISH KUMAR

CRL.O.P.NO.10435 OF 2022

AND

CRL.M.P.NO.6266 OF 2022

Deepak (a) Deepak Kumar

... Petitioner

-Vs-

1. The State of Tamil Nadu

Rep.by Inspector of Police,

All Women Police Station,

Tambaram, Chengalpattu District,

(Crime No.02 of 2022)

2. Pavithra

... Respondents

Prayer: Criminal Original petition filed under Section 482 of

the Code of Criminal Procedure, to call for the records in

connection with the FIR registered in Crime No.2 of 2022 on the

file of Inspector of Police, All Women Police Station, Tambaram

and quash the same.

For Petitioner

:

M/s.S.Ruban Prabu

For R1

:

Mr.A.Gokulakrishnan

Additional Public Prosecutor

ORDER

This Criminal Original Petition has been filed to call for

the records in connection with the FIR registered in Crime No.2

of 2022 on the file of the Inspector of Police, All Women Police

Station, Tambaram and to quash the same.

2. The case of the prosecution is that the defacto

complainant who is aged about 17 years fell in love with the

accused and had sexual intercourse which resulted in

registration of FIR.

3. Heard both sides.

4. Today both the defacto complainant and accused along with

their parents are present before this Court. The defacto

complainant is about to complete the age of 18 in another six

months when the alleged offence reported. She submitted that she

is no longer interested in prosecuting the accused, since she

voluntarily fell in love with the boy/accused. Though said

consent of the minor is not permissible under law, the very

object of the POCSO Act is to prevent the sexual offence on the

minor children. When the girl and the boy were mature enough to

take rational decision in their life and involve in certain

activities due to infactuation whether such act could be

questionable. In a similar nature of case this Court in

Crl.O.P.No.232 of 201 in the case of Vijayalakshmi and another

Vs. The Inspector of Police, All Women Police Station, Erode and

another has held as follows:-

10. This Court is instantaneously reminded

of an earlier order passed by a learned

Single Judge of this Court, in Sabari v.

Inspector of Police reported in 2019 (3) MLJ

Crl 110, wherein he had discussed in detail

about the cases in which persons of the age

group of 16 to 18 years are involved in love

affairs and how in some cases ultimately end

up in a criminal case booked for an offence

under the POSCO Act. The relevant portions

of the judgment are extracted here under for

proper appreciation:

“ 21. When this case was taken up for

hearing, this Court became concerned about

the growing incidence of offences under the

POCSO Act on one side and also the Rigorous

Imprisonment envisaged in the Act. Sometimes

it happens that such offences are slapped

against teenagers, who fall victim of the

application of the POCSO Act at an young age

without understanding the implication of the

severity of the enactment.

26. In addition to the above, this Court is

of the view that 'warning' of attraction of

POCSO Act must be displayed before screening

of any film, which have teenage characters

suggesting relationship between boy and

girl.

27. Apart from the above, this Court is of

the view that as per the 3rd respondent's

report, majority of cases are due to

relationship between adolescent boys and

girls. Though under Section 2(d) of the Act,

'Child' is defined as a person below the age

of 18 years and in case of any love affair

between a girl and a boy, where the girl

happened to be 16 or 17 years old, either in

the school final or entering the college,

the relationship invariably assumes the

penal character by subjecting the boy to the

rigours of POCSO Act. Once the age of the

girl is established in such relationship as

below 18 year