HC quashes POCSO case against man who married orphan minor, citing wife's affidavit

Bengaluru/Kolar: The Karnataka High Court has quashed a POCSO and criminal case against a man who had married an underage orphan girl, citing the victim’s affidavit that she voluntarily chose the marriage and depended entirely on him for survival.

The case involved Manjunath from Malur in Kolar district, who challenged both an FIR filed at Masti Police Station and an ongoing fast-track trial under the POCSO Act in the Kolar district court. Justice M. Nagaprasanna, who heard the plea, ruled in favour of the petitioner.

The court considered a key affidavit submitted by the man’s wife, who stated that she had no surviving family members and was fully dependent on her husband. She expressed that continuing the case would put their family in severe distress. The court accepted this statement and ordered the case to be dropped.

The court, in its order, noted that if the petitioner were to later abandon the woman without a valid reason, the case could be reopened.

Background of the case

On May 14, 2023, petitioner Muniraju married a minor orphan girl. Months later, she became pregnant. During a visit to a local hospital, the medical staff discovered she was 17 years and 8 months old, and reported this to the Malur Child Development Project Officer. Authorities filed a complaint with police, leading to Muniraju’s arrest and the filing of a charge sheet under the POCSO Act.

Since then, the woman has given birth to a girl child.