'Young Boys Bear Consequences In Adolescent Relationships': Madras High Court Calls For POCSO Awareness To Prevent Misuse

The Madras High Court recently set aside the conviction of a boy convicted and sentenced under Section 366 IPC and Section 5(l) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl. Noting that the couple, both of whom were minors at the time, were having a consensual relationship, Justice N Mala noted that in such kinds of relationships, it was often the young boys who ended up bearing the consequences. “This Court finds that this is a typical case of consensual adolescent sexual relationship ending on a discordant note due to parental differences. In cases involving consensual relationship between adolescents, it is often the young boy, who ultimately bears the consequences. Under parental pressure, the girl may be compelled to marry another person, following which criminal proceedings are initiated against the boy under the POCSO Act, resulting in his prolonged incarceration,” the court noted. The court further noted that if wide publicity is given about the provisions of the POCSO Act and its stringency, as provided under Section 43 of the POCSO Act, this menace could be controlled to an extent. The court highlighted that lack of knowledge about the stringency of the provisions is one of the reasons that the law was being misused. “In the considered opinion of this Court, if the provisions of Section 43 of the POCSO Act, are followed in letter and spirit, the menace as pointed out by the Apex Court, to an extent, can be curbed. It is fundamentally due to lack of knowledge of the Act and its draconian provisions that the same is misused,” the court observed. The court thus directed the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu to take immediate positive steps to comply with Section 43 of the POCSO Act, to create awareness among the general public, children and parents about the act. The court also directed the Chief Secretary to consider organising camps in Government and private schools and colleges for creating awareness about the act and its dire consequences. The court was hearing an appeal filed by a man against the order of the Special Court for POCSO Cases at Kanyakumary @ Nagercoil, convicting him for offences under Section 366 of IPC and under Section 5(l) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act. As per the prosecution, the victim girl was 16 at the time of occurrence. It was the case that the appellant, who was a friend of victim's brother, made acquittance with her, and later conveyed his love for her expressing his desire to marry he. When the victim informed him that her parents were planning her marriage against her will, the appellant insisted her to leae home, took her to his relative's house and married her. The appellant then committed sexual assault on her from March 4, 2018 till April 5, 2018 when District Children Protection Officer got an anonymous call and went to the relative's place and took the couple into custody. The appellant argued that the couple for romantically involved and even in her earlier statements, the victim had not made any allegations against him. It was submitted that the victim had joined him voluntarily and independently. He thus argued that the trial court should not have relied on the victim's testimony which was inconsistent. The court noted that the prove the age of the victim, the prosecution had produced xerox copies of her birth certificate and transfer certificate. When the court inquired, it was informed that the original of the certificate was available. The court noted that when original was available, the secondary evidence (xerox copies of the documents) should not have been accepted without proper and justifiable explanation. The court noted that before accepting the xerox copies as evidence, the trial court should have considered its admissibility. The court added tat failure to note that the xerox copies were inadmissible and placing heavy reliance on them to determine the age of the victim was a fatal error committed by the trial court. Thus, noting that the foundational fact of victim's age was not proved, the court allowed the appeal and set aside the conviction. Counsel for Appellant: Mr. K. Karnan Counsel for Respondent: Mr. A. Thiruvadikumar, Additional Public Prosecutor Case Title: Mahesh v. State Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 103 Case No: Crl.A.(MD).No.1300 of 2025Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment

'Young Boys Bear Consequences In Adolescent Relationships': Madras High Court Calls For POCSO Awareness To Prevent Misuse

Upasana Sajeev

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