MADURAI: Observing that the Pocso Act does not prohibit adults from lodging a complaint for the offences committed against them when they were minors, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court refused to quash a Pocso case and a connected harassment case registered against a man.
Further observing that the Tenkasi police failed to conduct a proper investigation in the two cases and the earlier complaints lodged by the complainants — a mother-daughter duo — Justice B Pugalendhi transferred the cases to the Tenkasi CB-CID, with a direction to the deputy superintendent of police to also probe into the manner in which the earlier complaints were closed.
The petitioner alleged that he had filed a civil suit against the complainants, due to which false cases have been lodged against him. He also pointed out that the complainant in the Pocso case is 19 years old and she had lodged the complaint for an incident which allegedly took place when she was 17. Citing the delay and the fact that the complainant is a major, he argued that a Pocso case cannot be registered for the complaint. He further alleged that the woman harassment case has been lodged by the mother of the girl claiming that he misbehaved with her too in 2023, to cancel the bail granted to him in the Pocso case.
However, the complainants submitted that they lodged three complaints in 2023 but they were closed by the police on the ground that the victim was not produced for inquiry. Following the court’s direction, they lodged a fresh complaint recently, and submitted some evidence such as WhatsApp chats and video call recordings, against the petitioner.
Justice Pugalendhi observed that the Pocso Act does not prescribe a limitation period for lodging a complaint under the Act. “Very often, children are unable to report such crimes as the perpetrator in most cases is either a family member, a relative or closely known person. The victim continues to carry the trauma of sexual abuse till very late in life and in order to overcome this trauma many adults report the abuse faced by them when they were children,” he observed.
The judge further pointed out that as per the Pocso Act, it is the duty of the police officer to visit a convenient place for the victim and record their statement in that place. However, instead of doing the same, the police closed the complaint saying the victim was not produced for inquiry, which is in violation of the provisions of the Act, he noted, and passed the above order.