Madras High Court on Tuesday quashed the petition by a woman who alleged that her husband raped their daughter and initiated criminal proceedings against the woman under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for falsely accusing her husband.
Case Originally Filed Under POCSO Act
As per the Court Order, the couple has two children aged eleven and one and a half after marrying in 2003. About a year back, the woman had alleged that the father raped their 11-year-old girl and impregnated her. She also claimed that the pregnancy was terminated with the use of ‘native medicine’. Following her complaint, a case was filed for an offence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act after the woman filed a complaint against her husband.
Daughter Denies All The Allegations
After the daughter was questioned, she denied all the allegation of rape or sexual contact with father, after which the father was provided with an anticipatory bill. The father appealed to the court to drop the case, asserting that the complaint against him was false and the personal dispute was the reason behind her wife making up a false case against her husband. The court concurred with his appeal after further investigation.
‘This Case Has Shocked Court’s Conscience’
Justice Anand Venkatesh while reading the judgment said, “This case has shocked the conscience of this Court and it is unbelievable that the mother just for the sake of taking custody of her child, can go to the extent of making such serious allegations against her husband by alleging that he is having physical contact with his own daughter.”
The Court examined the girl’s statement and after questioning her she clearly narrated the entire incident in which she turned down all the allegations against her father. From her admission, it was clear that the wife wanted their daughter’s custody and for that purpose, she had cooked up a false story against her husband.
Cheap Tactics
The court further said that there were instances when the attention of this Court was drawn where false complaints were filed against the husband under POCSO Act. It was informed to this Court that such cheap tactics are adopted in the family court cases, just to arm-twist the husband and make him fall in line. The Court accepted that it was not willing to believe that such instances can happen and that this case has proven to be an eye-opener.
“Woman Should Not Be Let Off”
The judgment stated that the women should not be let off freely and should be made to ‘suffer the consequences for having given a false complaint against her husband at the cost of her own daughter’. The bench quashed the petition and asked the police to immediately proceed against the woman under Section 22 of the POCSO Act for having given a false complaint and take action against her in accordance with the law.
