The country’s highest court i.e. the Supreme Court has recently given a historic verdict in a very sensitive case, presenting a unique example of law and human sensitivities. The apex court, using its special and extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, has completely acquitted a person sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under the POCSO Act. The court took this decision in view of the seriousness of the case because the victim, after attaining adulthood, has willingly settled down with the same person and both are living a very happy life in the society as husband and wife.

That first love during school days, then refusal to marry and a dreadful sentence of 10 years in jail.

This whole matter started when the victim was studying in class 12th in school. During that time she had fallen deeply in love with a young man. The relationship between the two progressed well, but after some time, when the young man flatly refused to marry her due to some reason, the victim got hurt and lodged a police complaint against him. Since the victim was a minor at the time of the incident, the police took strict action and registered a case against the accused youth under the POCSO Act. After the case went on in the court, serious allegations of having physical relations with a minor were proved and the young man was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

First the husband left her, then the ‘convict’ who came out on bail held hands and got married

After being sentenced to jail, the girl’s family married her to another man. But fate had something else in store; When the second husband came to know about the woman’s previous love affair and the POCSO case, he left the woman forever. Meanwhile, when the young man who was serving a sentence in jail came out on bail after some time as per the legal process, he felt extremely regretful about it. He went ahead and rectified his old mistakes, removed his old grudges and made peace with the woman and by legally marrying her, he gave her the full status of his wife in front of the society.

Madras High Court rejected the application, then the victim herself reached the Supreme Court pleading for justice.

After marriage, both their lives were back on track, but the sword of POCSO sentence was still hanging over the husband’s head. To save her marriage and married life, the victim herself came forward and filed a petition in the Madras High Court. The woman pleaded that her husband has now reformed and both of them are together, hence his punishment should be cancelled. However, the Madras High Court rejected this petition citing strict rules of law. Not accepting defeat, this married couple reached the doorstep of the country’s biggest court, the Supreme Court, to beg for justice and their happy future.

Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar’s bench said – to do complete justice, we cancel the sentence.

Honorable Supreme Court Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar’s two-member special bench deeply understood the emotionality and ground reality of this unique case. The Division Bench, while making very positive remarks during the hearing, said that the appellant husband and the victim wife are now bound by a strong marital bond and they are completely free to live with dignity and peace in the society. The bench clarified in its order that without going into the legal merits of the case and in view of these extremely unique and special facts, the court finds it absolutely appropriate to exercise its wide powers under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution. For the sake of the bright future of the husband and wife, the court issued an order of acquittal with immediate effect, quashing the conviction of the appellant and the entire sentence given by the lower court.