Marriage doesn’t warrant quashing of rape, POCSO FIR: Delhi HC

New Delhi, Nov 10 – The Delhi High Court has said that the marriage of the complainant to the accused does not warrant the quashing of an FIR registered for rape and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain dismissed the accused’s plea to quash the FIR, stressing on the seriousness of the charges under Section 376 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.

The court cited Supreme Court judgements, highlighting that offences under Section 376 IPC cannot be compounded, and FIRs for such offenses cannot be quashed based on settlements between the parties.

The FIR was filed in 2020, following the victim’s complaint that the accused engaged in sexual intercourse with her multiple times when she was 16, resulting in pregnancy. While the complainant settled disputes with the accused and married him, the court said that the FIR and related proceedings, including judicial ones, cannot be quashed considering the gravity of the allegations.