In case of Mohd Amaan Malik v State CRL.M.C. 7121/2022 & CRL.M.A. 8829/2023
The Delhi High Court has raised concern over a disturbing pattern noticed in sexual assault cases, where an accused marries the survivor, seemingly to evade criminal charges, only to promptly abandon the survivor once the case is quashed or bail is secured. The court was hearing a plea to quash a first information report (FIR) filed by the Delhi Police in 2021 for rape and other crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual crimes Act (POCSO Act).
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma refused to quash the FIR after noting that there were a number of cases where the accused heartlessly deserted the survivor after evading a criminal case by marrying her.
“Shockingly, numerous cases have come to light where the accused deceitfully enters into a marriage under the guise of willingness, particularly when the victim becomes pregnant as a result of the assault and subsequent DNA testing confirms the accused as the biological father, and even after solemnization of marriage and subsequent immunity from criminal prosecution, the accused heartlessly deserts the victim within a few months,” the Court said.
The court also noted that, “Due to social pressure which exists in many societies including India as the victim had become pregnant, the mother of victim had given in to the pressure of the accused to get her daughter married to him as he was the biological father of the child,”. for more legal updates follow us.