The Allahabad High Court has quashed criminal proceedings in a 2017 rape case after noting that the prime accused had married the victim several years ago and the couple is now living together with a child. Justice Vivek Kumar Singh allowed the petition filed by Wasiullah and two others seeking to terminate the criminal case pending before a trial court in Sant Kabir Nagar.
In its order passed on Thursday, the court observed that the first accused and the victim are now legally married and living peacefully:
“In the present case, the Applicant No. 1 and the victim have solemnised their marriage, a baby boy was born out of their wedlock, and they are living a happy married life for the last several years.”
The bench also took note of a settlement recorded before the mediation centre, involving the first informant and other parties.
“If the proceedings of the trial court is not quashed by this court, the Applicant No. 1, the victim, and their family members may sustain legal injury,” the court said.
Taking into account the changed circumstances, the court held that the continuance of prosecution would not serve any purpose:
“In view of the subsequent development, the criminality, if any, committed by the applicants now stands washed off. As such, no useful purpose would be served in prolonging the criminal prosecution of the applicants.”
The FIR was lodged in January 2017 at Bakhira police station in Sant Kabir Nagar under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code. The complaint by the girl’s father alleged that his minor daughter had been enticed away by the first accused.
Police later recovered the girl in January 2017, after which she made a statement under Section 161 CrPC saying she had accompanied the accused of her own will and that she was a major.
During the pendency of the trial, the couple got married and began living together. Their male child was born in August 2018.
