Shockingly, Numerous Cases Have Come To Light Where Accused Marries Rape Victim To Secure Immunity From Criminal Prosecution: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court in its recent judgment has held that there is a disturbing trend wherein the Accused marries the rape victim in order to get the charges quashed.
A Single Judge Bench led by Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma said, "...a disturbing pattern emerges where the accused marries the victim, seemingly to evade criminal charges, only to promptly abandon the victim once the FIR is quashed or bail is secured. Shockingly, numerous cases have come to light where the accused deceitfully enters into a marriage under the guise of willingness, particularly when the victim becomes pregnant as a result of the assault andv subsequent DNA testing confirms the accused as the biological father, and even after solemnization of marriage and subsequent immunity from criminal prosecution, the accused heartlessly deserts the victim within a few months."
Advocate Ankit Rana appeared for the Petitioner while APP Manoj Pant appeared on behalf of the Respondent State.
In this case, FIR was registered against the Petitioner under Sections 363/366A/376/505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
According to the victim, who was a minor during the commission of offense, she used to go to tuitions where she met the Accused, Mohd. Amaan Malik. It is there where friendship developed between the victim and the Accused.
The victim further states that the Accused started forcing her to get physical and threatened to post intimate pictures of her. On April 07, 2021, the victim realized she got pregnant and informed her mother.
The mother of the victim contacted the Accused. The Accused threatened the mother and victim to get the child aborted and forcibly got married to the victim on April 09. 2021. Thereafter, the Accused deserted the victim. The Accused was arrested on May 29, 2021.
School records showed that the victim was 17 years old, a minor during the commission of the offense, thereby case was made out under the provisions of POCSO Act. Thereafter, the Accused approached the High Court for quashing of F.I.R under Section 482, CrPC.
The Counsel for the Accused relied upon the provisions of Muslim Personal Law and stated that the marriage was legal in the eyes of law and the provisions of POCSO will not be applicable. The submissions were challenged by the Counsel for Respondent by stating that the consent of minor is no consent in the eyes of law.
The Court while examining the Muslim Personal Laws in relation with the POCSO placed reliance on previous judgments of Aleem Pasha v. State of Karnataka 2022 SCC OnLine Kar 1588 and Rahul v. State of Karnataka 2021 SCC OnLine Kar 12728. There were differing opinions of the Courts on the overriding effect of POCSO on Personal Laws.
The Court said that “there are conflicting judgments on the point as to whether a minor who is married under the Muslim Law will be governed by the provisions of the personal law or the POCSO Act and the Child Marriage Restraint Act. In any case, in the present case, the allegations of rape are not after the marriage but before the marriage between the parties.”
Further on the issue of quashing the FIR, the Court said “there is no ground made out for quashing of the FIR as the consent of a minor was of no consequence for the purpose of sexual relationship. a disturbing pattern emerges where the accused marries the victim, seemingly to evade criminal charges. numerous cases have come to light where the accused deceitfully enters into a marriage under the guise of willingness, and even after solemnization of marriage and subsequent immunity from criminal prosecution, the accused heartlessly deserts the victim within a few months.”
Keeping in mind the above observations, the Court dismissed the Petition and allowed the Trial Court to continue with the case.
Cause Title: Mohd. Amaan Malik v. State Govt NCT of Delhi