The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that a person cannot be charged with kidnapping if a minor voluntarily elopes with him, in the absence of evidence showing inducement or coercion.
The ruling came in Deepak Vaishnav vs. State of Chhattisgarh, where a Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal acquitted a 24-year-old man who had earlier been sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The case dates back to September 2022, when a 15-year-old girl left home for school but did not return, prompting her father to file a missing persons complaint. During the investigation, it emerged that she had met the accused on her way to school and voluntarily travelled with him. The two went from Mungeli to Raipur, and later to Hyderabad, Vijayawada, and Agrapalli, where they stayed together for nearly a month in a rented accommodation.
According to the prosecution, the two lived together as husband and wife during this period. However, the High Court noted that the girl remained with the accused throughout the journey without raising any complaint or attempting to return home.
The trial court had convicted the accused of kidnapping and, under provisions of the POCSO Act, holding that the girl’s status as a minor rendered her consent immaterial. This decision was challenged before the High Court.
Before the High Court, the defence argued that the girl had voluntarily accompanied the accused and had herself suggested eloping. It was further submitted that there was no evidence of force, inducement, or coercion.
The State, on the other hand, maintained that since the girl was a minor, her consent could not be considered valid, and the conviction under POCSO was justified.
After examining the evidence, including the victim’s statements, the High Court observed that there was no material on record to indicate that the accused had persuaded or enticed the girl to leave her home. The Court noted that the girl had voluntarily travelled across multiple locations with the accused without resistance.
On the charge of kidnapping, the Court held that inducement or active involvement by the accused in taking the minor away is a necessary ingredient, which was not established in this case.
About the POCSO charge, the Court observed that although the girl had stated that they had physical relations, the medical examination did not reveal any injuries, and no conclusive opinion regarding sexual intercourse could be formed. The forensic report was also negative, which, according to the Court, created reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.
In view of these findings, the High Court held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. It accordingly set aside the trial court’s judgment and acquitted the accused of all charges.
