Meghalaya HC quashes 2021 POCSO case after informed-consent check

The Meghalaya High Court has quashed proceedings under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against a 24-year-old man after examining, through an independent report, whether the survivor's consent to ending the case was informed and voluntary, Live Law reported on Sunday.

The order was passed on November 3 by a bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere. NEInsider is not reporting the names of the parties or any detail that could identify the survivor.

The case

The FIR was registered at Nongstoin Police Station in West Khasi Hills in 2021 under sections of the POCSO Act dealing with aggravated penetrative sexual assault, at a time when the survivor was a minor and in a relationship with the accused. Her mother was the original complainant.

The survivor is now 19 and the accused is 24. According to the court record cited by Live Law, the two live together as husband and wife and have two children. The survivor and her mother told the court they had no objection to the case being closed, and the parties together asked the High Court to quash the FIR and the case pending before the Special POCSO Court.

How the court checked consent

Before deciding, the court sought a report from the Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee to examine whether the survivor's consent was genuine, informed and free from pressure. It also considered a police report.

The bench observed that POCSO proceedings may be quashed only in exceptional circumstances, where the survivor's consent is genuine and uncoerced and the parties are living together as a family with children. It said courts must balance justice, deterrence and rehabilitation, while keeping in mind the social realities of the state.

Finding no impediment, the court allowed the petition and set aside the FIR and all proceedings arising from it.

Welfare support ordered

The High Court also directed the authorities to ensure that the survivor and her two children receive the government welfare benefits they are entitled to, along with vocational training support.

Cases in which a survivor and the accused later marry or live together come up before courts in many states. Child rights groups have often argued that such cases need careful scrutiny because the law treats any sexual act with a person under 18 as an offence regardless of consent. The court's reliance on an independent consent review reflects that concern.

Anyone in Meghalaya who needs help in a case of child abuse can call the Childline number 1098 or the emergency number 112.