Allahabad High Court Dismisses POCSO Case: Protecting Happily Married Couple from Unnecessary Legal Harassment

The Allahabad High Court has dismissed criminal proceedings under the POCSO Act, noting that compelling a contentedly married couple to undergo trial merely to document hostile testimony would constitute an "irony of fate" and serve as an "instrument of harassment."

In this particular case, the accused individual had married the alleged victim, who herself supported the dismissal of the FIR and rejected the accusations made by her father when filing the report.

Justice Kshitij Shailendra granted the petition of Ashwani Anand, emphasizing that the court cannot remain a "silent spectator" or "mere bystander" when justice demands immediate intervention.

In the ruling dated November 21, the court affirmed that a judge's "pious duty" is to "wipe every tear from every eye" and emphasized that law's purpose is not to create societal problems but to provide solutions.

"Forcing a woman in such situations to attend court proceedings for months and years to secure her husband's acquittal, where he faces potential punishment for alleged wrongdoing against his wife which she herself denies, would constitute harassment," the court stated.

The woman's father had filed the FIR, claiming his daughter was abducted by the petitioner in April 2024.

Following investigation, police submitted a chargesheet, despite the "victim" having denied the allegations in her statement to police, asserting she had willingly left her parents' home. She had also denied any physical relationship with the accused at that time.