"Aimed At Creating Psychological Fear": Bombay High Court Refuses To Quash Child Abuse FIR Under Goa Children's Act

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday (April 29) refused to quash a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against four persons booked under the charges of 'child abuse' punishable under the Goa Children's Act, 2003, for allegedly abusing, threatening and punching a minor.

Single-judge Justice Ashish Chavan noted that the threatening and also the verbal abuse did not merely affect the victim physically, but also had a huge psychological impact.

"The allegations clearly demonstrate, prima facie, that the act of verbal and psychological abuse coupled with physical assault was not a solitary incident. The incident itself was not a momentary act during a quarrel. It was neither trivial nor isolated and taking the allegations at face value, at this stage, the alleged incident seems to be aimed at creating psychological fear in the mind of the victim, the physical assault being only the means to create an atmosphere of fear in the mind of the victim," Justice Chavan observed in the order. 

The bench was seized with the petitions filed by - Helcino Fernandes (61), Frank Melroy Da Silva (36), Augustinho Shelton Da Silva (27) and Jose Francisco Da Silva (64) - all booked under charges of child abuse.

According to the prosecution case, the child victim was abused, and assaulted by the Silva brothers on October 21, 2023 owing to some disputes they had with the victim boy's father. The victim stated that when he had gone to play football at the beach, on the relevant day, Helcino came towards him and caught hold of his T-shirt and took his fist to the jaw of the victim and told him that he would break him like he broke his father Menino (victim's father). Thereafter, accused Augustino, who accompanies Helcino said that he would break the legs of the victim so that the victim would never play again. Further, Frank said that he would suffocate the victim to death by 'choking' him.

Apprehending violence at the hands of the Petitioners and perceiving that there was a threat to his life and limb, the victim's father filed the complaint with the Colva Police Station and the instant FIR was lodged. 

Considering the facts of the case, Justice Chavan referred to section 2(m) of the Goa Children's Act, which defines physical abuse, psychological abuse, cruelty and maltreatment of a child.

"It is also evident that it is not necessary that the maltreatment envisaged in the provision is habitual. On facts, the allegations as narrated prima facie make out a case of physical and psychological abuse. The statement of the victim is corroborated by the statement of an eyewitness, a friend of the mother of the victim, who has also seen the incident and can corroborate the allegations. Thus, the offence defined by Section 2(m) and penalised by Section 8(2) of the said Act is prima facie made out from a holistic reading of the chargesheet," Justice Chavan held.

With these observations, the judge refused to quash the FIR against the four men.

Appearance:

Advocates Nigel da Costa Frias, Kartik Panchal and Savio Mesquita appeared for the Petitioner.

Additional Public Prosecutor S Karpe with Advocate Sonali Gaonkar represented the State. 

Advocates Anacleto Viegas and Mohammad Nadaf represented the Complainant. 

Case Title: Helcino A Fernandes vs State [Criminal Writ Petition 20 of 2026 (F)]

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 220

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