Hearing the case of a man who had challenged his conviction under the POCSO Act claiming he had a “consensual relationship” with a minor girl whom he later refused to marry, the Madras HC observed that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act does not make an exception for a romantic “consensual” relationship with a minor.
The man, aged 19 at the time of the offence, according to the court order, had been convicted and sentenced to life by a trial court under the POCSO Act, SC/ST Act, and other provisions.
In August 2019, when the minor girl was a student of the 11th standard, the appellant, who was hardly 19 years at that time, proposed to her.
The physical relationship resulted in the minor’s pregnancy, and subsequent delivery of a female child on May 6, 2020.
It was alleged that the accused person denied responsibility for the pregnancy and refused to marry the victim girl, stating that she belongs to the Scheduled Caste community.
The Trial Court had previously convicted the appellant and awarded life imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life.
The HC, however, modified the life sentence to 10 years of imprisonment and fine of Rs 5,000, noting that the prior sentence was “harsh” in light of the couple’s long acquaintance and “the adverse impact of hormonal changes at that age”.
It also set aside the man’s conviction under the SC/ST Act and for abetment to suicide.
Before the court, the accused had argued that there was no coercion, threat or force in his relationship with the minor and that the 2012 Act “is not meant for punishing teenage persons who had a relationship with a proper understanding”.
In this case, the court recognized that the interaction between the two was a product of mutual natural attraction arising out of a multi-year school acquaintance, which did not have “caste as its basis”.
The Court partly allowed the appeal, and while it completely acquitted the appellant from the SC/ST Act and IPC 306 charges, it modified the stringent natural life sentence under the POCSO Act
