'Parents Cannot Decide A Compromise For Minor's Rape': Here's What Punjab And Haryana High Court Ruled Out Under POCSO

The Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that the parents of a minor cannot strike a compromise with the preparator in case of rape. The High Court was hearing a plea from a man based in Sirsa who was booked in January 2019 and had reached a compromise with the victim's family last year. Therefore, the accused had approached the high court seeking quashing of the FIR against him.

Several Cases Under Which The Accused Was Booked

While stating the verdict, the Court noted that the man was booked under sections 452 for house tress pass and 506 for criminal intimidation of IPC; Section 3 of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989; and Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 for sexual assault, Hindustan Times reported. The Court said that the compromise affected by the child or her parents compromised the child's dignity and could not be raised to a status where it affected the very objective of the act.

'Compromise Would Lead To Child Abuse'

Devi Sirohi, academician and former head of the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said that compromises in such cases should never be allowed as they go against the spirit of the law and result in child abuse.

Once an FIR is registered under the 2012 act to protect children from assault, it cannot be quashed based on the compromise. Moreover, the High Court directed the trial court to expedite the trial and preferably conclude within six months. The Court said that if the courts accept a compromise in such cases, it would set a bad precedent and result in children's abuse.

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