Pocso Case: Karnataka HC Grants Bail to Accused After He Agrees to Marry Victim When She Turns 18

Bengaluru: After the accused agreed to marry the minor victim once she turned 18, the Karnataka High Court granted bail to him in a a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act case. Victim's guardian filed an affidavit agreeing to the same.

A single-judge bench of Justice Rajendra Badamikar granted bail to the man on April 18 after he furnished a bond of Rs 1 lakh.

As per the prosecution, the accused and the victim knew each other from school. The accused allegedly sexually assaulted the girl on the pretext of marriage. On becoming pregnant, the girl went to hospital to undergo abortion for medical reason. The medical officer discovered that she was only 17. . Based on this, a case was registered under several charges, including under the POCSO Act.

“The allegations made in the complaint disclosed that the petitioner and victim are in love since school days… As on the date of incident, the victim is aged more than 17 years. Apart from that, the accused has filed an affidavit undertaking that he will marry the victim girl as soon as she attains majority and the guardian of the victim has also filed an affidavit stating she is prepared to perform the marriage of victim with the accused immediately when the victim attains age of majority,” the court observed.