POCSO Act never intended to criminalise consensual romantic ties: Allahabad HC
LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court said that the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, which was enacted to save the minors from sexual exploitation, had now become a tool for the same.
Emphasising that the Act was never meant to criminalise consensual romantic relationships between adolescents, the bench of Justice Krishan Pahal said that the fact of a consensual relationship borne out of love should be considered while granting bail.
Justice Pahal said that it would amount to perversity of justice if the statement of the victim was ignored and the accused was left to suffer in jail.
The bench made those observations while granting bail to a 18-year-old boy booked under Sections 137(2), 87, 65(1) of BNS and 3/4(2) of POCSO Act for allegedly committing rape of a 16-year-old girl.
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