Settlement by parents in rape of minor cannot be sanctioned by law: Kerala High Court
Any compromise or out-of-court settlement effected by the parents of a minor rape victim with the object of stifling criminal prosecution cannot receive the sanction
Any compromise or out-of-court settlement effected by the parents of a minor rape victim with the object of stifling criminal prosecution cannot receive the sanction of law, observed the Kerala High Court while denying bail to a man who was accused of sexually assaulting his 17-year-old child. Justice Kauser Edappagath held that such a settlement would not override the State’s duty to prosecute the offences against children. The court dismissed the bail plea by the father who had allegedly committed offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, finding that the accusation against the applicant was grave and prima facie disclosed as a premeditated criminal act.
It was noted that the survivor had narrated how she was subjected to sexual assault. The father had contended that he was innocent and that there was no evidence to connect him to the alleged crime. ‘Reached a compromise’ The mother of the survivor had initially lodged the complaint against the father. “With utter disregard of the interest and welfare of her daughter” she had chosen later to settle the matter, the court noted. The mother had informed the court that the father and the daughter had reached a compromise, and that the daughter did not have an objection to the granting of bail.
The court noticed that the mother had not contended the alleged assault, she only claimed of a subsequent settlement. The mother cannot legally settle a case against the father for sexual harassment or assault of their minor daughter, and therefore the compromise in this case could
not be accepted. “The law does not permit parents or guardians of a minor victim to compromise, withdraw, or express no objection to the continuation of criminal proceedings or to the granting of bail in relation to an offence of incestuous sexual assault” the court held.
The BriefWire