The Delhi High Court has refused to quash a case against a man, accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl who is married to her, saying the court cannot carve out an exception in the statute which criminalises sexual relations with minor.
The court said it is moved by the circumstances, but it is bound by the statute and this is one of those hard cases where the pull of equity is strong but the command of the statute is stronger.
Sex with minor wife amounts to rape, says Bombay High Court
The court was dealing with a plea in which a man and his parents sought quashing of criminal case lodged against them for the offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act after the victim said she does not want any action against her husband, with whom she has a child, and in-laws and that she was never sexually assaulted.
Justice Sanjeev Narula refused to quash the FIR, lodged in 2023, saying that to snuff out the prosecution at the threshold would risk sending a messaging that child marriages and sexual relationships with minors can be sanitised by arranging a ceremony and continuing cohabitation.
