The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a rape case and charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act against an accused after the victim, now a major, expressed her intention to marry him.
The court has ordered that the marriage must take place within one month. Simultaneously, the man has been directed to be released from judicial custody.
The victim and her father appeared before the Court of Justice Hemant Chandangoudar, submitting an affidavit stating that they had no objection to quashing the proceedings.
The affidavit indicated that the victim, now of legal age, was in a romantic relationship with the petitioner and intended to marry him for a happy married life.
The accused, present in court, expressed his willingness to solemnize the marriage, asserting that the sexual intercourse was consensual as they were in a relationship.
The court noted that the victim had turned hostile in her cross-examination during the trial, and nothing was elicited to support the prosecution’s case. The court deemed it an abuse of process for the trial to continue.
Considering the victim’s statement that continuing the criminal proceedings would cause more agony than securing justice, the court held that the continuation would not serve the ends of justice. The trial against the accused was set aside with the condition that he marries the victim within a month.
The court specified, “This order is subject to the condition that the petitioner-accused shall solemnise his marriage with the survivor within one month from today, and register the same before the competent authority.”
