POCSO: Can POCSO case be canceled due to agreement between accused and victim, Supreme Court agrees on investigation
The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a legal question whether cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act can be quashed on the basis of an agreement between the accused and the victim. A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and AS Oka stayed the order of the Kerala High Court dated August 26, 2019, quashing the FIR lodged against the accused under the POCSO Act, 2012 on the basis of an agreement reached between the accused and the aggrieved parties. did.
The apex court issued a notice on the appeal filed by the Kerala government against the order of the High Court. In this case, the accused, a teacher by profession, was booked under sections of the POCSO Act and the case pertained to sexual assault on a child in that institution by an educational institution or religious institution.
The counsel for the petitioners informed that the FIR for offenses punishable under sections 9 (f) and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012 at Malappuram police station has been quashed, the apex court said. It is not acceptable in view of the Court's decision to do so on the basis of the agreement being reached between the parties.