Pocso Act now misused for exploitation, says Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has observed that the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which was enacted to protect children under the age of 18 years from sexual exploitation, has now become a tool for their exploitation.

While hearing a bail application, Justice Krishan Pahal stressed that the Act was never meant to criminalise consensual romantic relationships between adolescents and said the fact of a consensual relationship borne out of love should be considered while granting bail.

The court said it would amount to the perversity of justice if the statement of the victim was ignored and the accused was left to suffer in jail.

The court made these observations while granting bail under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and POCSO Act to an 18-year-old boy who was booked for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl.

The applicant Raj Sonkar was arrested in March this year. His counsel contended before the court that it was a case of consensual relationship and that there was no medical corroboration of the incident.

It was also submitted that there was no criminal antecedent of the applicant and if he was released on bail, he would not misuse the liberty of bail.

Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the evidence on record, taking into consideration the inordinate delay of 15 days in the institution of FIR and there being no medical corroboration of the incident, the court in its order dated April 29 granted him bail without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case.