Supreme Court Quashes Unsupported POCSO Case Against Woman in Pune
The Supreme Court has quashed a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against a woman, holding that there was absolutely no reason to subject her to a criminal trial when the available evidence did not support the allegations against her. A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran allowed the woman's appeal and set aside the case.
The apex court's ruling sets aside a First Information Report (FIR) that had been registered at the Khadki Police Station in Pune. The FIR charged the woman under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The criminal proceedings originated from a broader legal and custody dispute between a divorced couple over their twin children. The mother of the children had made serious allegations, claiming that her son had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by his paternal aunt. In her statements, the mother further claimed that she had personally witnessed one such incident of assault while they were all living together in the same household.
In its evaluation of the case, the Supreme Court noted significant issues regarding the timeline of these allegations. The bench pointed out that no such allegations of sexual assault had been raised by the mother during the span of the marriage, at the time the divorce was being finalized, or immediately after the marriage was dissolved.
Court records show that the couple had formally obtained a mutual consent divorce on September 5, 2023. As part of the divorce decree, primary custody of the twin children was granted to the father, while legal visitation rights were awarded to the mother.
The mother eventually lodged the FIR against the paternal aunt on March 17, 2024. The Supreme Court observed that this police complaint was registered only hours after the children's father had filed a completely separate FIR against the family, alleging that sexual abuse had been committed by the children's maternal uncle.
Taking note of the lack of corroborating evidence and the suspicious context surrounding the lodging of the complaint, the apex court concluded that continuing the criminal trial against the paternal aunt was unwarranted, leading to the full quashing of the POCSO case.
