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“The State has to ensure the protection against exploitation and to provide childhood care, and therefore the said words ‘protection’ and ‘care’ has to be given widest meaning.”
“POCSO offences are grave and demand stringent punishments along with meticulous investigations to deliver justice. It is imperative for the prosecution to conduct thorough and proper investigations reflecting the severity of these offences.”
“The failure to provide documents to the accused in a language in which the accused could not read, would definitely scuttle the chances for the accused to instruct and assist his counsel in canvassing the defence on his behalf.”
While the crime was heinous and against a child, the Court noted that although the act was “barbaric”, it could not be termed “brutal” in the sense that it required capital punishment.
“In the present case, despite the clear statement given by the survivor that the relationship between the appellant and herself was consensual in nature, he has been convicted under the POCSO Act only for the reason that on the date of incident she was less than 18 years of age.”
“The law… does not permit a retrospective resurrection of childhood once the individual steps into legal adulthood; and to permit otherwise would be to dilute the doctrinal rigour of age-based legal classifications and introduce subjectivity into a domain that demands exactitude.”
“The right of personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India has held that unmarried woman has right to decide in respect of the pregnancy.”
The Trial Court hadn’t given any separate sentence to the convict under Sections 376(3), 377, 506 of the IPC and Section 4 of the POCSO Act in view of Section 42 of the POCSO Act.
“In our opinion, since the timelines have been stipulated under the POCSO Act for all stages right from the stage of Investigation up to the stage of Trial, the same must be adhered to as far as possible. Because of the inadequacy of the number of exclusive Courts for the POCSO Cases, the said timelines mandated in the Act for completion of the trials are not being maintained.”
“Offence under the POCSO Act is not against individual and it is against the Society. Hence, the subsequent marriage between the convict and the victim will not take away the offence committed by the convict when the victim girl was a child. If the defence of subsequent marriage or the elopement is accepted, then the purpose of enactment of the POCSO Act would get defeated.”
The Court stated that when the mother herself was living under constant fear, abuse, and violence inflicted by the same man, who had assaulted her child, her capacity to protect, act, or even process the truth is also deeply impaired. It is vital to understand the state of helplessness and paralysis that may result in such a traumatic environment.
Allahabad High Court concluded that the findings of the court below regarding the offence of attempt to rape in relation to accused persons are not sustainable. Instead, they should be summoned for offence under Section 354(b) of the IPC, read with Section 9 read with Section 10 of the POCSO Act.
“The provisions of Section 42A of POCSO Act, cannot be interpreted so as to override the scope and ambit of enabling provision, i.e., Section 42 of POCSO Act.”
“In tribal communities, practice of child marriages remains deeply ingrained, driven by tradition, poverty, and a lack of legal oversight. Ending child marriage requires legal and social intervention”
The Court stated that failure to comply with Court’s guidelines will amount to contempt of court, and strict contempt proceedings will be initiated against the erring officers under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
The victim’s testimony in sexual assault cases is vital and unless there are compelling reasons which necessitates looking for corroboration of her statement, the courts shall find no difficulty to act on the testimony of a victim of sexual assault alone to convict an accused where her testimony inspires confidence and is found to be reliable.
While the legal age of consent is important for protecting minors, the adolescents should be allowed to express their feelings and engage in relationships without fear of criminalization. The focus of the law should be on preventing exploitation and abuse rather than punishing love.
“Every arrest is also a relief and a pain. It is a critical part of the justice system. All arrests have to be justified and be based on evidence and pave the way for justice.”
“In most of the cases, we found that the age of the victim/child/girl is between 16 to 18 years and the age of the offender is 19 to 22 years. In our opinion, this is a serious issue and threat to the future of the youth of the country.”
The Court asserted that Judicial discipline requires coordinate benches to follow earlier decisions or refer the matter to a larger bench if there is disagreement.