Chhattisgarh HC says kidnapping offence invalid, if minor gives consent to elope

The Additional Sessions Court in Balodabazar had sentenced the accused named Anil Ratre under the sections of kidnapping and the POCSO Act after a minor girl went missing from the Kasdol area on May 12, 2017.

Bilaspur: The Chhattisgarh High Court in Bilaspur on Wednesday passed a verdict wherein it pronounced that if a minor girl voluntarily goes with a man while in a love affair, then it does not count as a kidnapping offense. On this basis, the court bench canceled the sentence of the accused lodged in jail under the POCSO Act and ordered his release.

The Additional Sessions Court in Balodabazar had sentenced the accused named Anil Ratre under the sections of kidnapping and the POCSO Act after a minor girl went missing from the Kasdol area on May 12, 2017. The parents of the victim lodged a missing report after which an investigation was initiated into the matter. The girl was found about a year later on May 6, 2018. By the time, she was married to Ratre and also had a three-month-old child with him.

The victim, however, said that she had eloped with Ratre because she was in a consensual relationship with him. Based on her statement, the High Court reversed the judgment given by the Balodabazar Court and gave the aforementioned verdict.