A person can be prosecuted for offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act), regardless of whether the survivor is the accused’s wife, the Kerala High Court has held.Justice Jobin Sebastian dismissed the petition filed by the accused seeking to quash criminal proceedings against him on charges of kidnapping, rape, repeated sexual assault on a child, and storage of pornographic content involving a child under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the POCSO Act.The accused contended that he had married the complainant when she was 17 years and one month old in accordance with Islamic religious rites. He relied on the exception to rape provided under the IPC, citing that intercourse by a man with his own wife who was under 15 years of age was not rape.The allegation against the accused was that he kidnapped the girl in a car, took her to his residence, and allegedly committed the offences. His parents were also accused of aiding him in the alleged offences. Moreover, the prosecution claimed that, despite being aware of the alleged offences, the girl’s parents refused to take her back or report the matter to the authorities.The complainant, who was the victim in the alleged offence, argued that she was only 17 years old at the time of the incident and would be defined as a “child” under the POCSO Act.The court noted that the accused primarily relied on statements given by the complainant, her brother and the Khazi of the mosque to the police, stating that a marriage had taken place. However, whether a marriage had legally taken place was a matter to be determined by the trial court, the court said.The court observed that, even assuming that a marriage was solemnised in accordance with Islamic religious rites, it would not absolve the accused of criminal liability, since the girl was only 17 years old at the time of the alleged marriage and the subsequent sexual acts. The court further held that the accused could not claim protection under the exception to rape provided under the IPC, since there were precedents set by the Supreme Court stating that a husband could be prosecuted even if the victim was his wife and was between 15 and 18 years of age. Published - August 31, 2026 09:13 pm IST