The Meghalaya High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a man accused under Sections 5 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after taking note of the consensual nature of the relationship, the subsequent marriage between the parties and the welfare of their minor child.
The order was passed by Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere on a joint petition filed by the accused and the survivor seeking quashing of the FIR and the pending proceedings before the Special POCSO Court in Shillong.
The High Court recorded that at the time of the relationship, the accused was 23-year-old while the survivor was approximately 17 years and 8 months old. Statements recorded under Sections 161 and 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) indicated that the relationship was voluntary and consensual. The relationship subsequently resulted in the birth of a daughter in May 2021.
The FIR had initially been lodged by the survivor’s mother after learning about the pregnancy. However, during the pendency of criminal proceedings, the couple solemnised their wedding before the Marriage Registrar in Shillong on April 3, 2025, and have since been residing together as a family.
During the proceedings, the High Court directed the Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee to interact with the survivor to verify whether her consent to the relationship and to the quashing petition was voluntary, informed and free from coercion. The report submitted before the Court confirmed that the couple, now aged 28 and 23 respectively, were living together harmoniously with their five-year-old daughter, who is presently attending kindergarten.
The report further recorded that the survivor had no objection to quashing the criminal proceedings and had not availed any statutory compensation or welfare benefits available to POCSO survivors or children born out of such relationships.
The complainant-mother also filed an affidavit before the High Court stating that the FIR had been lodged due to emotional distress and misunderstanding arising out of the pregnancy. She clarified that the relationship between the parties had been consensual and expressed no objection to the termination of criminal prosecution.
Relying upon an earlier Division Bench judgment dealing with so-called ‘Romeo-Juliet’ cases in Meghalaya, the High Court observed that although offences under the POCSO Act were treated as offences against society, courts were also required to consider social realities, contextual circumstances and the long-term welfare of the parties involved.
The Bench noted that consensual adolescent relationships resulting in marriage or cohabitation were not uncommon in the State and observed that mechanical application of penal provisions in such circumstances may ultimately operate to the detriment of the survivor and the child born from the relationship.
The Court further held that where the parties were now legally married, cohabiting as husband and wife and raising a child together, continuation of criminal prosecution and incarceration of the accused may not advance the interests of justice. Accordingly, the High Court quashed the FIR registered at Madanrting Police Station along with the consequential proceedings pending before the Special POCSO Court.
At the same time, the Court directed the authorities concerned to ensure that the survivor and the child were extended benefits available under various Central and State welfare schemes, including victim compensation, healthcare assistance, educational support, child protection services and women empowerment programmes.
The post Meghalaya High Court quashes POCSO proceedings citing consensual relationship, subsequent marriage appeared first on India Legal.