New Delhi: Delhi High Court has granted bail to a youth accused in a POCSO case after recognising that he and the minor girl were in a consensual relationship, which is now accepted by their parents.Justice Mini Pushkarna allowed the bail plea of the accused after taking note of the circumstances, noting that “No fruitful purpose will be served by the continued incarceration of the petitioner.”The HC cited a recent SC verdict in which it was stressed by the top court that the POCSO Act has been frequently misused to suppress adolescent romantic relationships by families who object to such relationships. The apex court had emphasised the inclusion of a ‘Romeo-Juliet’ clause to exempt such romantic relationships from the strict application of the POCSO Act.In the case before the HC, an FIR was registered at the instance of the father of the victim, alleging that his daughter, aged about 16 years, was missing and that the accused may have kidnapped her. A few months after the FIR, the police traced the girl and found her living with the accused petitioner in a rented accommodation on the outskirts of Delhi. He was arrested and remanded to judicial custody.During investigation by the police, the petitioner disclosed that he had married the victim and that they had been living together. However, no proof of the said marriage was provided, according to the police.A medical examination of the girl revealed that she was pregnant, indicating that sexual intercourse had occurred while she was a minor. However, the counsel for the accused submitted that the duo were adolescents, in a consensual relationship and were living together after their “marriage”.While granting bail, the HC noted that “the proceedings in the present case involve an offence under the POCSO Act, however, the submissions made before this court have brought to the fore that the relationship between the victim and the petitioner was consensual.”HC also observed that the father of the victim does not wish to pursue the present matter any further, and both sets parents told the court that they now accept the relationship between the petitioner and their daughter.
