The Allahabad High Court has stayed the proceedings of an ongoing criminal case in the Court of the Additional District and Sessions Judge/Special Judge, POCSO Act, Allahabad on the charge of raping a minor and has sought a reply from the Uttar Pradesh government within three weeks.
A single-judge bench of Justice Rajeev Misra passed this order while hearing an application filed by Yuvraj Yadav.
The application under Section 482 CrPC has been filed challenging the order dated 11.10.2022 passed by Additional District and Sessions Judge/ Special Judge, POCSO Act, Allahabad, arising out of Case under Sections 376, 506, 342 IPC and 3/4 POCSO Act, Police Station Soraon, District Prayagraj, whereby judicial remand of applicant has been extended till 15.10.2022 as well as with a prayer that application dated 15.09.2022 submitted by applicant seeking recall of the order dated 11.10.2022 be decided.
It is submitted by the Senior Counsel for applicant that in the FIR dated 09.08.2022 giving rise to the criminal proceedings, the age of the prosecutrix has been mentioned as 15 years.
Subsequently, the applicant obtained a certificate from the institution which the prosecutrix had attended for the first time. As per said certificate issued by the principal of the concerned institution her date of birth as recorded in school records is 03.03.2002. As such on the date of occurrence, the prosecutrix was aged about 20 years.
It is then argued by the Senior Counsel that in view of above, by no stretch of imagination, offence under Section 3/4 POCSO Act can be said to have been committed by the applicant.
Senior Counsel for the applicant further contends that in the light of aforesaid facts, applicant filed an application dated 15.09.2022 before the court below that applicant be not sent to judicial remand under Section 3/4 POCSO Act as no offence is made out. However, the court below by means of order dated 11.10.2022 rejected the same and sent the applicant for judicial remand up to 15.10.2022.
On the above premise, counsel for applicant submitted that since no offence under Section 3/4 POCSO Act is made out against applicant, therefore, judicial remand extended by concerned Special Court is manifestly illegal and without jurisdiction. Even otherwise, the entire proceedings against the applicant under Section 3/4 POCSO Act cannot be sustained and therefore liable to be quashed by the Court.
Per contra, the AGA and Ajay Kumar Yadav, the counsel for opposite party-2, have opposed this application. However, they could not dislodge the factual and legal submissions urged by Senior Counsel for applicants at this stage.
Having heard the Senior Counsel for applicant, AGA for State, counsel for opposite party-2 and upon perusal of record, the matter requires consideration, the Court observed.
The Court has granted three weeks time to the respondents to file counter-affidavits. “Till 23.02.2023, further proceedings against the applicant in Case under Sections 376, 506, 342 IPC and 3/4 POCSO Act, Police Station-Soraon, District- Prayagraj, shall remain stayed,” the Court ordered.
The Court has fixed the next hearing of the petition on February 23, 2023.