In a democracy, where individuals are free to choose love and companionship, relationships often begin with hope. Yet, not every love story finds its way to a happy ending. One such complex tale unfolded in Pathanamthitta — marked by repeated elopements, police complaints, court proceedings, and emotional turmoil.
It was during the Monday morning rush in the second week of June. As vehicles streamed through Thumpamon junction, Hrithik (name changed) arrived on his motorcycle and appeared to be waiting for someone.
Moments later, a girl in a school uniform — believed to be a higher secondary student — got off from a private bus at the junction, walked straight up to him, and within seconds, the two sped away from the spot.
The next morning, a distraught couple approached the Pathanamthitta police station in tears, alleging that their only daughter had eloped with a young man with whom she was in a relationship. Acting promptly, the police registered a missing-person case and launched efforts to trace the victim.
On learning that a case had been registered, Hrithik approached advocate George Jacob Vengal. The advocate advised him to surrender and comply with the law. Following this advice, the girl was taken first to the Maranalloor police station in Thiruvananthapuram and later to the Pathanamthitta police station. After her statement was formally recorded, the girl was persuaded to return with her parents. During this period, Hrithik also surrendered before the Pathanamthitta police, as per the advocate’s advice.
However, the matter soon took a complicated turn when the Pathanamthitta police registered his arrest, invoking rape charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, based on the statement recorded from the victim. The fresh case alleged that ‘the girl is a 17-year-old minor, just three months short of attaining majority, and belongs to a Scheduled Caste community, while the suspect is from the Nadar Christian community. And the suspect kidnapped the minor and raped her at his residence.
“At that time, neither I nor the accused were aware that the girl was still three months short of attaining majority. She herself had claimed to the accused that she was a major and that there would be no legal consequences,” says George.
Owing to the stringent provisions of the Pocso Act, the court remanded Hrithik to judicial custody.
A regular bail application was subsequently moved before the Additional District and Sessions Court, but the plea was rejected, resulting in Hrithik spending 17 days in judicial custody, explains the advocate.
However, George chose not to relent and pursued further legal remedies by approaching the High Court with a bail petition. “The bench led by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas granted bail after the victim expressed no objection. Moreover, the court also permitted the victim and her mother to be heard in open court, instead of in the judge’s chamber,” George says.
Later, George moved a petition seeking to quash the FIR, including the Pocso charges. The petition was filed on January 29, 2026 — barely six months after the case was registered — and, strikingly, was allowed at the very first hearing.
The quashing of the FIR left the prosecution, the victim’s family, and several counsels present in the courtroom visibly taken aback.
What unfolded thereafter was extraordinary — despite a clear court directive restraining both the accused and the victim from cohabiting or contacting each other until the girl attained the age of 18, the couple allegedly eloped for the second time on October 2.
The victim, born in September 2007, and the 24-year-old accused solemnised their marriage at the local registrar’s office at Kattakada, and produced the marriage certificate before the court.
In addition, the victim also stated that they were in love and that she had eloped with Hrithik of her own free will. The court took note of her statement and squashed the Pocso charges.