NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has held that the romantic nature of the relationship and the girl’s age being close to 18 years are relevant considerations at the stage of bail in a case lodged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, even though the consent of a minor has no legal value.
Justice Vikas Mahajan made the observation while granting bail to a man accused in a case under the POCSO Act, noting that the case prima facie appeared to arise out of a romantic relationship rather than an incident involving violence, coercion or brutality.
According to the prosecution, Singh was arrested in August 2023 in an FIR lodged for taking the girl, aged around 14 years, to Agra and establishing physical relations with her.
The court, however, noted that during the investigation, the minor stated that she had accompanied the accused to Agra of her own will.
The court further noted that since no school records were available, a bone ossification test was conducted, which assessed her age to be more than 14 years but less than 17 years.
The bench referred to an earlier order of the High Court, wherein it was held that in cases of sexual assault under the POCSO Act, wherever the court is called upon to determine the age of the victim based on a bone age ossification test, the upper age given in the reference range should be considered as the age of the victim.
“Undoubtedly, the prosecutrix was a minor at the time of the incident and, therefore, her consent for sexual relations, if any, will have no value in the eyes of law.
However, taking her age as 17 years, it prima facie appears that the prosecutrix was of sufficient maturity and intellectual capacity, and her romantic involvement with the petitioner is one of the considerations which tilts the balance in favour of the petitioner for the purpose of granting bail,” the bench said.