Kerala High Court quashes POCSO case after victim says she is happily married to accused

The Kerala High Court recently held that a rape and POCSO case could be quashed in 'exceptional circumstances' where the accused later married the victim and they were leading a peaceful married life. [XXX v State of Kerala & anr].Justice C Pradeep Kumar observed that courts in rare cases have treated marriage between the accused and the victim as relevant while deciding whether continuing criminal proceedings in POCSO and rape related matters would serve any meaningful purpose.Referring to the Supreme Court ruling in Mahesh Mukund Patel v State of UP, the Court noted that although the victim in that case was a major, the transformation of the accused from an being the assailant to becoming the victim's husband and protector were considered by the Supreme Court as a circumstance supporting quashing of criminal proceedings.Thus, applying the same reasoning, Court in this case also held that the subsequent marriage and the couple's stable life together constituted an 'exceptional circumstance', justifying judicial intervention and the quashing of criminal proceedings against the accused petitioner."In this case also, the petitioner has already married the victim and now they are leading a happy married life. Therefore, termination of the proceedings against the petitioner in such an exceptional circumstance is highly necessary to maintain the harmonious and peaceful life of the victim who now remains under the care and protection of the petitioner. Therefore, the prayer for quashing the proceedings against the petitioner deserves favourable consideration," the Court added..The case arose from a crime registered at the Nedumbassery Police Station against the petitioner.According to the prosecution, the petitioner who is related to the victim, allegedly took her to a lodge sexually assaulted her on several locations and impregnated her.The petitioner faced grave charges under the Indian Penal Code including the offence of kidnapping, outraging the modesty of a woman, stalking sexual assault and repeated rape, along with multiple offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 relating to penetrative sexual assault.During the proceedings before the High Court, counsel for the petitioner submitted that the case between the accused and the victim had been settled and added that they had been married.A marriage certificate issued by the marriage officer was also showed to the Court, while the victim also filed an affidavit stating that she wished to terminate the criminal proceedings to preserve their peaceful family life..The Court examined the legal position on quashing criminal proceedings in sexual offence cases following settlement or marriage and referred to an earlier decision of the Court where it had mentioned seven factors for considering quashing of criminal proceedings. Among the factors was the potential devastation of victim's present family life with the accused which due to the continued trial proceedings could disrupt their ongoing marital life and even affect the lives of any children born from their relationship.The Court observed that the petitioner was leading a happy married life with the victim and even the victim had requested the termination of all charges in order to safeguard their peaceful married life. Thus, the Court quashed all the criminal proceedings against the petitioner..The petitioner was represented by advocates Aromalunni MS, Binu Babukuttan, Nima Meriyam Koshy, Roshan Kurian Roy and Ananthakrishnan A.Public Prosecutor Seena C appeared for State.Advocate Hasna Jabil appeared for the victim. .[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.