'Pocso FIR can't be quashed based on compromise'

CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana HC has ruled that an FIR under Pocso Act could not be quashed on a 'compromise', even if the accused married the survivor and they had children.

HC noted that in such cases, the competence of minors to consent was inherently ambiguous, even in circumstances where such consent appeared to be given freely.

In this case, the accused had raped a 13-year-old girl in Gurgaon and was on the run for nine years as a proclaimed offender before being arrested. The FIR was registered in Aug 2013 under IPC and Pocso Act at Sadar police station, Gurgaon.

The accused approached HC, seeking the FIR be quashed as he married the survivor and they had four children.

Dismissing the plea, the bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri observed the rationale behind fixing the age of marriage and consent for sexual activity to a fixed statutory minimum was based on the recognition that minors lacked the mental maturity and psychological competence to consent to sexual acts.

"This position emanates from a protectionist objective, whereby the law operates on the presumption that minors lack the capacity to fully apprehend or appreciate the nature, implications and potential consequences of indulging in sexual activities," HC has held.

During hearing, counsel for the accused said that though the FIR said the survivor was 13 years old at the time of the alleged crime, they had since married and the "matter is amicably settled between the parties". Since the couple has four children, it will be "just and proper" that the FIR is quashed on the basis of compromise, he said.

When children are born out of wedlock, courts should adopt a "pragmatic and compassionate approach" because criminal prosecution will hamper the upbringing of the children, he submitted.

After hearing all parties, HC dismissed the plea, observing that in a rape case under Pocso Act, FIR and its consequential proceedings could not be quashed on the basis of compromise.