NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has granted bail to a 20-year-old man in a rape and POCSO case, registered against him on the complaint of the parent of a girl with whom he was in a “juvenile romance.”
Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, in the order, underlined that there was a consensual physical relationship between the two observing the girl herself offered to stand as “surety” for him for his release. In her statement, the girl said that she has a child with the petitioner and that she took that pregnancy to term and gave birth to that child, all of which appears to have been done willingly.
The court said there is no gainsaying the fact that at the time when the offences under section 376(2) IPC and section 6 POCSO Act are alleged to have been committed, ‘X’ (girl) was ‘minor’. However, going by her date of birth, she was at the cusp of majority, being about 17 years, 8 months old, it was observed. It was also observed that considering that the petitioner has been in custody for over 22 months, he deserves to be enlarged on regular bail.
As per the accused, he was in a consensual relationship with the girl. They have known each other for many years, since they were in school together. It was argued by his lawyer that it is a case of ‘juvenile romance’, where the petitioner and ‘X’ also engaged in a physical relationship, all of which happened with the complete and unreserved approval of ‘X’, without any element of deception, coercion or pressure.