Read Time: 08 minutes

Synopsis

A Single Judge Bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court has refused to quash the FIR and proceedings against a man who was booked under the POCSO Act and Indian Penal Code for forcefully having sexual intercourse with a minor and threatening her to make the videos viral on social media.

The case pertains to an FIR that was registered against several persons for pushing the 17-year-old into prostitution. It was alleged by the victim girl that accused no. 1 forcibly sent her to a bedroom to indulge in sexual activity with the petitioner. It was also alleged that accused no.1 threatened her that if she discloses the incident to anyone else, she would face dire consequences. Subsequently, an investigation was conducted and a charge sheet came to be filed wherein the petitioner was arrayed as accused no. 7.

The counsel for the petitioner argued that the petitioner was only a customer who was introduced by accused No.1 and a customer who has indulged in alleged sexual intercourse with the complainant. Further, he argued that the court should absolve the petitioner from the allegation under the POCSO Act since the petitioner was a customer under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. He also submitted before the court that the complainant was filing complaints one after the other against the people with whom the alleged sexual intercourse happened, therefore, it was an abuse of the process of law.

The Special Public Prosecutor opposed the arguments of the petitioner and submitted that in such cases no pardon should be shown to any one of the accused, as they have indulged in sexual intercourse with a minor even after looking at the college uniform that the complainant was wearing.

The counsel for the complainant also opposed the petition while arguing that it is the courage of the victim to come out and register the complaint which has resulted in the registration of crimes on every man who had indulged in such sexual intercourse.

The court rejected the arguments of the petitioner and stated that the case not only pertained to the POCSO Act but also Information Technology Act since the petitioner had threatened the victim to make her videos viral on social media.

The court rejected the petitioner’s argument that multiple FIR was registered and it was an abuse of the process of law. Court said,

“Merely because the victim is the same, it cannot be said that only one crime should have been registered and all of them should be put in one basket as accused in the said crime. Therefore, the submission of the learned senior counsel for petitioner that there are multiple FIRs registered by the State and it is an abuse of the process of law is unacceptable."

The court also rejected the argument that the petitioner is a customer and should be absolved. Court observed,

“It is not a case where the alleged victim was above 18 years and it is not a case that the Police have conducted a search and unearthed any incident in a particular place which has been used to run a rocket of prostitution. Here it is the complainant herself who registers the complaint. She is the victim of sexual abuse and has registered the said complaint. Therefore, the learned senior counsel cannot draw parallel to a search being conducted on spa, brothel or a lodge where the customer is found to have indulged in such activity with the victim.”

The court while dismissing the petition noted that:

“If the contention of the petitioner is accepted that he is a customer and he should be let off, it would be putting a premium on the activities of the petitioner who has indulged in such acts which prima facie meet the ingredients of all the offences alleged against him. Technicality or hyper-technicality cannot mask the allegation of the kind alleged in the case at hand.”

Case Title: Mohammad Shariff vs State of Karnataka & Anr