SHILLONG: The Meghalaya High Court noted that the POCSO Act's definition of "sexual assault" cannot be applied to an act when a young couple is showing mutual love and affection, and so dismissed the POCSO proceedings against the minor's partner.
When deciding on the plea of understanding advanced by the POCSO accused and the victim's mother, Justice W. Diengdoh's bench made the observation.
The matter came to light when the mother of the minor lodged an FIR before the police officer complaining that her minor daughter was sexually assaulted by petitioner No.1/accused on two occasions.
She claimed that her young daughter, the victim, who had been reported to petitioner No. 2 after her school's instructor discovered her missing from her room, had told her about the incident.
Petitioner No. 1 was then detained as a result of the police registering under Section 5(1)/6 of the POCSO Act, and he was held in detention for around 10 months before being released on bail. He now filed the immediate plea, along with the minor victim's mother, asking for the case to be dismissed.
According to the juvenile girl's 164 and 161 CrPC declarations, the accused is her boyfriend, and their relationship is voluntary and consensual. The petitioners' attorney further argued that two teenagers were having a love relationship and, unaware of the boundaries imposed by the law, had engaged in physical contact with one another of their own free will and agreement.
According to the POCSO Act's terms, it was therefore contended, this is not an instance of sexual assault.
Observing the circumstances of the case, the Court noticed right away that rape or sexual assault not only affects the victim's physical health but also leaves a very deep emotional scar that necessitates extensive treatment to help the victim forget the event and the picture.
The Court additionally noted that although a child's consent is completely invalid, there was reciprocal love and affection between the accused and the victim-child in this particular case.
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