Prayagraj: Quashing criminal proceedings under the POCSO Act, the Allahabad High Court has observed that forcing a happily-married couple to face trial merely to record a hostile testimony would be an “irony of fate” and an “instrument of harassment”.
In the instant case, the accused man had married the alleged victim, and the latter had also favoured the quashing of the FIR and denied the allegations levelled by her father while lodging the report.
Justice Kshitij Shailendra allowed the plea of Ashwani Anand, observing that the court cannot remain a “silent spectator” or “mere bystander” when the ends of justice demand immediate intervention.
In its order dated November 21, the court said the “pious duty” of a judge is to “wipe every tear from every eye” and that the purpose of law is not to create problems for society, but to find solutions.
“Compelling a lady in such matters to visit court premises for months and years for the purpose of getting her own husband acquitted, where he is facing the threat of punishment for doing some wrong with his wife, which she does not admit, would be an instrument of harassment,” the court observed.
The woman’s father got the FIR lodged, alleging that his daughter was abducted by the petitioner in April 2024.
After investigation, police filed a chargesheet in the case, though the “victim” had denied the allegations in her statement before police and stated that she had left her parents’ home willingly. She had also denied any physical relationship with the accused at that time.
