Kerala HC flags misuse of POCSO Act in marital disputes; clears man accused of raping stepdaughter

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) is prone to misuse by some sections of people to wreak vengeance during times of matrimonial discord, cautioned the Kerala High Court recently. 

Justice A Badharudeen made the observation while acquitting a man accused of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter.

The Court found there were several factors that raised doubts about the genuineness of the allegations in this case. The question of whether the accused was falsely accused by his estranged wife could not be ruled out, it concluded.

"The provisions of the POCSO Act have been misused by a section of people to wreak vengeance, settle scores and obtain illegal gain. The prime area where one could find false implication of innocent persons in POCSO cases is when there is matrimonial discord between two spouses," it observed.

The Court took note of a larger trend where men entangled in matrimonial disputes may face false allegations of sexual assault.

"Particularly when the wife is at loggerheads with her husband, she not only files litigation before the Family Court as well as the concerned Magistrate court for getting reliefs from the said courts, but, in order to put the husband under stress and fear and also to avoid custody of the child being given to the husband, false allegations of sexual molestation by the father against his own child and by stepfathers against children born to their second wives, etc. could be noticed. False implication of innocent persons in POCSO Act offences is not uncommon in other circumstances, and the above instances are not exhaustive," the Court observed.

Trial courts must carefully examine the evidence in such cases to determine whether an accused has been falsely implicated, the Court added.

"Therefore, the courts have a duty to look into the evidence in each and every case with an element of insight in mind, to ascertain whether there is any likelihood of false implication could be found from the evidence available, particularly when false implication is the prime contention raised by the accused to get acquittal," said the Court.

The case before the Court involved allegations that a man had sexually assaulted his teenage stepdaughter several times between 2014 and 2018, while he was still married to her mother.

A trial court found him guilty, prompting him to move an appeal before the the High Court for relief. He argued that the POCSO case filed against him was a false one.

His counsel pointed out that the alleged incidents were said to have occurred between 2014 and 2018. However, the victim's first information statement was recorded only in 2020.

The accused further highlighted that the POCSO case was one of several cases lodged against him by the victim's mother in quick succession before the family court and the magistrate's court.

The High Court found inconsistencies in the victim's account. It noted that she had not disclosed the sexual assault even when her statement was recorded before the magistrate or to her mother when she had travelled to Kuwait in 2019, while the accused was away.

"She (victim) had the best opportunity to tell this matter to her mother, when the accused was absent for a period of 30 days. Not only she failed to disclose the same to her mother, but she also did not show any signs of discomfort," the High Court noted.

The Court also observed that the accused had informed about a relationship between the victim and another boy to her mother, leading to the collapse of the relationship.

The victim had maintained that she held no animosity over this against the accused. However, the Court expressed doubts about this as well.

"The evidence tendered by her would show that she had the feeling of discontent regarding collapse of her relationship," the Court said.

The Court went on to observe that medical evidence indicating that the victim had undergone sexual intercourse is also not a conclusive indication of the accused having molested her, since the victim had been in a relationship with another boy.

The Court concluded that the allegations against the accused man did not stand conclusively proved. It, therefore, gave him the benefit of doubt and acquitted him.

"When prosecution evidence is found to be riddled with serious doubts, the benefit of doubt must definitely go to the accused," the Court said, while ordering the release of the accused who had been in jail for about three years.

The accused was represented by advocates Johny K George, Manu Ramachandran, M Kiranlal, R Rajesh, Sameer M Nair and Sailakshmi Menon.

Public prosecutor Sajeev PK appeared for the State.

[Read Judgment]