The Chhattisgarh High Court recently held that a person cannot be booked for kidnapping if a minor girl elopes with him voluntarily [Deepak Vaishnav vs. State of Chhattisgarh]. .A bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal acquitted a 24-year-old man who had been sentenced to 20 years under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after a 15-year-old girl had left home for school and later eloped with him.The Court held that there was no evidence to show that the man had induced or persuaded the girl to leave her home.“There is no evidence on record that at any point of time the appellant solicited or persuaded the victim to leave her home forcefully… the victim had voluntarily accompanied the appellant and remained with him without any resistance or complaint,” the Court observed..The case arose in September 2022 when the girl’s father approached police after she did not return home from school. She had left home on her bicycle for school, but met the accused on the way and boarded a bus to Mungeli. From Mungeli, the two travelled to Raipur and then boarded another bus to Hyderabad. After staying there briefly, they travelled further to Vijayawada and eventually reached Agrapalli.At Agrapalli, the accused rented a room where the two stayed together for nearly a month. During this period, the girl continued to remain with him without raising any complaint or attempting to return home.During their stay, the two admittedly lived together as husband and wife and had physical relations..Meanwhile, based on her father's missing compliant, the police registered a case and began investigation. The girl was later traced and her statement was recorded before a Magistrate.Based on the investigation, the trial court convicted the accused under charges of kidnapping as well as under the POCSO Act and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment. He challenged this decision before the High Court. .Before the High Court, counsel for the accused argued that the girl had voluntarily accompanied him and had remained with him for nearly a month without any resistance or complaint. It was pointed out that the girl herself had admitted that she had suggested eloping and travelling with him.On the other hand, the State argued that the girl was a minor at the time of the incident and therefore her consent was immaterial. It was submitted that the trial court had rightly convicted the accused under the POCSO Act. .After examining the girl’s statements and the surrounding circumstances, the High Court noted that she had voluntarily left home and travelled with the accused across multiple places without any resistance or complaint.The Court also found that there was no material to show that the accused had persuaded or induced her to leave her home, which is a necessary ingredient to establish kidnapping.On the charge under the POCSO Act, the High Court noted that although the girl stated that the two had lived together and had physical relations, the medical examination did not reveal injuries and no definite opinion regarding sexual intercourse could be given.The forensic report was also negative, and the Court observed that these gaps created serious doubt in the prosecution’s case.Taking these factors together, the Court held that the prosecution failed to prove the offence under the POCSO Act beyond reasonable doubt..Accordingly, the Court allowed the appeal, set aside the trial court judgment and acquitted the accused of all charges..The accused was represented by advocate Syed Majid Ali. The State was represented by Deputy Government Advocate Nitansh Jaiswal. .[Read Judgment]
