Meghalaya High Court: POCSO Act cannot be applied to mutual acts of love between young couples

The POCSO proceedings against the minor's partner were rejected by the Meghalaya High Court since it was recognised that the POCSO Act's definition of "sexual assault" cannot be used to an act when a young pair is exhibiting mutual love and affection. The observation was made by Justice W. Diengdoh's bench when deciding whether to accept the plea of understanding made by the mother of the victim and the POCSO accused.

When the mother of the youngster filed a FIR with the police officer, she complained that petitioner No. 1 accused her minor daughter of being sexually abused twice.
The police registered under Section 5(1)/6 of the POCSO Act, which led to the imprisonment of Petitioner No. 1, who was subsequently imprisoned there for almost 10 months before being released on bail. In order to get the case dropped, he now submitted an urgent plea along with the mother of the victim who was a minor.

It was therefore argued that this is not a case of sexual assault as defined by the POCSO Act. The Court immediately observed the facts of the case that rape or sexual assault not only has an impact on the victim's physical health but also leaves them with a very deep mental scar that requires extensive therapy to help them forget the incident and the image.
The Court further stated that even though a child's consent is entirely invalid, there was mutual affection and love in this case between the accused and the victim-child.