POCSO Act

India is already reeling under challenges like forced child marriages, Nikah involving minor girls, rampant trafficking under the guise of marriage, and systematic religious conversions under grooming tactics. Decriminalising adolescent sex may end up becoming a legal loophole for all these, and many other forms of abuse.

This problematic mindset entrenched in judiciary perpetuates a culture of impunity for sexual violence in India where rape cases have only increased, with over 30,000 cases reported in 2023 alone.

During a meeting at preacher's house in Chhat, Pastor Bajinder Singh and his henchmen Jatinder Pastor, Akbar Pastor, Sattar Ali, Sucha Singh, Rajesh Chaudhary and Sandeep Pehalwan allegedly abused and beat up the victim. She further stated that they outraged her modesty and issued death threats if she disclosed the incident to anyone.

In the judgment, the court noted that the defence tried to discredit the statement given by the victim’s mother in front of the magistrate, stating that it was different from what she had told the police in her complaint that led to the FIR. The court invoked the principle that “an FIR is not an encyclopaedia.”

The accused fled away from the spot, leaving the 14-year-old victim behind after passersby and witnesses stepped in.

The victim revealed that all the accused repeatedly sexually exploited her for two months and when she used to ask for food they force-fed her beef.

The Delhi HC said that though consent would not matter if the girl is a minor under the POCSO Act, the phrase ‘physical relation’ cannot be converted automatically into sexual intercourse let alone sexual assault.