**Mumbai: Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench Upholds POCSO Act in Minor Marriage Case**

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that neither a love affair between a minor girl and an adult man, nor their families’ consent to marriage followed by the birth of a child, can be grounds to quash criminal proceedings under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

### Plea to Quash FIR Rejected

A bench comprising Justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Nandesh Deshpande dismissed a plea filed by a 29-year-old man and his parents seeking to quash a First Information Report (FIR) registered against them under the POCSO Act and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

### Details of the Marriage

According to the prosecution, the man married the minor girl on June 2, 2024, as per Muslim rites, with the consent of both families. At the time of the marriage, the girl was below 18 years of age and subsequently gave birth to a child while still a minor.

### Court Observations

The bench noted, “Though she states that the said marriage was as per Muslim rites and religion, at the time of marriage, she was below 18 years of age. When she delivered the child, she was also below 18 years old.”

### Accused Fully Aware of the Minor’s Age

The court observed that the accused, who was 27 years old at the time of the marriage and is now 29, was fully aware of the girl’s minor status. The judges stated, “At least, he ought to have understood that he should wait till the girl attains 18 years of age. Then, in spite of having knowledge that the girl is a minor, when he takes her away from the legal custody of her parents, from that point itself he commits the offence. Merely because now the girl has given birth to the child, we are of the opinion that the acts of the applicants cannot be brushed aside.”

### Reference to Supreme Court PIL on Age of Consent

The bench also referred to the Supreme Court’s ongoing suo motu public interest litigation regarding the “Right to Privacy of Adolescents.” In this case, the Union Government has categorically opposed reducing the age of consent.

In its affidavit, the Centre maintained that lowering the age “would disturb the very purpose for which the POCSO Act was enacted” and would reintroduce the mischief the law seeks to prevent.

### Legal Standing and Court’s Conclusion

The bench remarked, “As the consent of the minor is irrelevant and the stand taken by the Central Government before the Apex Court also shows that it would be against the mandate of the Constitution of India, as law is not for individuals but for society at large.”

Holding that justice must be administered according to law, the court concluded that there were no exceptional circumstances warranting interference under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

“We, therefore, do not find this to be a fit case… The application stands rejected,” the judges ruled.

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