Karnataka HC quashes POCSO case against boy who eloped with girlfriend
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court has allowed a compromise settlement between families of two minors who had engaged in a sexual act leading to the boy being charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Justice M Nagaprasanna quashed the proceedings pending in a lower court against the boy who was a minor when the complaint was filed in December 2021.
The boy and girl, who were classmates, had eloped. After the complaint, they were found together in another district. The boy was charged for rape under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under Section 5 of the POCSO Act.
While the case is pending in the lower court, the High Court was recently approached for quashing the case. The families of the two youngsters had arrived at a settlement and did not want to pursue the case. The HC noted that in this eventuality the boy would be acquitted eventually.
"I deem it appropriate to take note of the settlement, accept it and free the petitioner from the mesh of crime he is enmeshed in, failing which, the future of a student would be put in insurmountable jeopardy," the court said.
The HC found that the two minors had indulged in sexual acts but it would not amount to a crime as envisioned under POCSO Act.
"A romantic love between a boy and a girl of the age of adolescence, sometimes arising out of infatuations, results in the boy embroiling himself into the vortex of the provisions of POCSO Act. It is in these peculiar facts, I deem it appropriate to take note of the settlement."
While the lower court proceedings were quashed, the HC pointed out that youngsters are not aware of POCSO.
"The act has been done in the frenzy of youth, owing to human curiosity coupled with biological cravings. These are acts which are entirely different from those which become offences under Section 5, which deals with aggravated penetrative sexual assault. These provisions are not known to students, who are themselves, minors and get infatuated," it said.
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Bareilly: Man dies from snakebite one hour after killing Cobra in field; Locals call it ‘revenge’
Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh: In an incident reported from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, a young man died after being bitten by a snake just an hour after he killed a cobra while working in the fields. The case has sparked intrigue and widespread discussion in Kyaara village, with locals believing it to be a case of "snake revenge."
The deceased, Govind Kashyap (32), was working as a laborer on Wednesday, gathering straw on the farm of a local resident, Atul Singh. While working, he encountered a cobra that had coiled up and started hissing. Reacting to this, Govind struck and killed the snake with his stick, crushing its hood before returning home for meal.
When Govind resumed work about an hour later, he was bitten by another snake at the same spot in the field. Witnesses reported seeing Govind trying to run toward his house, but he collapsed and died after only a few steps.
Farm owner Atul Singh found Govind in distress and notified his family, who immediately rushed him to the hospital. However, doctors declared him dead on arrival, stating that he had been bitten by a highly venomous snake, which caused the poison to rapidly spread through his body.
Villagers, shaken by the incident, shared that the second snake had reportedly lingered near the dead cobra for some time before the attack, fueling superstitious beliefs that the snake had sought revenge. Social media platforms have amplified the story, and it has quickly gone viral, with people sharing varied interpretations.
