Guwahati: Emphasising the “harsh realities” of Meghalaya’s growing number of adolescent romantic relationships, the Meghalaya high court has quashed a Pocso case against a man after finding that the couple are now legally married, have a 3-year-old child and are living together happily with the consent of their families.In an order on July 16, Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere held that continuing the criminal prosecution would cause greater harm to the woman and the child than serve the ends of justice.“If the FIR and the proceeding are not quashed, it is the petitioner No. 2 (prosecutrix) and the child who will suffer. Also, the harsh realities of a large number of romantic cases culminating into live-in relationships, having children at a very young age, in the State of Meghalaya, cannot be ignored, more particularly among the poor strata of the society,” the order said.The case stemmed from a 2023 FIR registered at Williamnagar Women Police Station under Sections 5 and 6 of the Pocso Act against the accused. The accused and the prosecutrix later jointly moved the Meghalaya HC seeking to quash the FIR and the pending proceedings before the special Pocso court in Williamnagar, stating that they were in a consensual romantic relationship, were now legally married and were raising their 3-year-old child together.At the time the FIR was registered, the accused was 25 years old while the prosecutrix was below 18 years of age.Reports submitted by the High Court Legal Services Committee and the police confirmed that the couple were living together peacefully with family consent and did not wish to pursue the criminal proceedings.Allowing the petition, the court noted that there was “no impediment” to quashing the proceedings in view of the marriage certificate, the birth of the child and the reports placed before it. Consequently, it quashed the FIR as well as the pending trial before the special Pocso court at Williamnagar.The ruling builds on the HC’s recent observations in a different case in April on Meghalaya’s high incidence of “Romeo-Juliet” cases, where consensual adolescent relationships later culminate in marriage or live-in relationships with children, adding that such cases are “far too many” and increasingly result in couples approaching the court to seek quashing of Pocso proceedings after settling down as families.Besides quashing the criminal proceedings, the court directed that the woman and her child be extended benefits under all eligible Central and state welfare schemes, including the Nirbhaya Fund scheme for POCSO victims, Mission Vatsalya, Meghalaya Victim Compensation Scheme, Ayushman Bharat-PM-JAY, Mission 1000 Days, the chief minister’s Safe Motherhood Scheme and Mission Shakti, among others. It asked the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) in East Garo Hills to ensure that all benefits are provided.The HC also directed that if victim compensation is awarded, the amount should be kept in a fixed deposit in the woman’s name until she turns 25, while allowing her to receive quarterly interest. It further ordered the appointment of a support person to assist the woman and her child in obtaining official documents, admissions and other entitlements, and sought a compliance report from the authorities by Sept 14.
