Meghalaya HC quashes POCSO case as couple cohabits and raises child

The Meghalaya High Court has quashed a POCSO case lodged in 2022 against a man from East Khasi Hills, ruling that continuing the prosecution would serve no purpose given that he and the woman named in the case have lived together as husband and wife for years and are now raising a three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere passed the order on July 6 in Crl. Petn. No. 75 of 2026, quashing the FIR registered at Rynjah Police Station on 2 July 2022 along with the Special (POCSO) case pending before the Special Judge, East Khasi Hills District.

The petition was filed jointly by Adrain Kharmyndai, the original accused, and the woman referred to as petitioner No. 2, who told the court their relationship had been consensual throughout. At the relevant time, the man was 19 and the woman 16 years and two months old; they are now aged 25 and 20 respectively.

Acting on an earlier direction, the pair appeared before the Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee, whose report confirmed they live together with their daughter in rented accommodation alongside the man's parents and sisters. He has studied up to Class 11 and works as a jeep driver earning between Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000 a month; she studied up to Class IX and is not currently employed. While the household's general expenses are shared between the man and his parents, he alone bears the personal costs of his partner and daughter. The report noted the couple wish to formalise their marriage and that the woman is with him "on her own volition," with no objection to the case being dropped.

Neither the woman nor her daughter have received any benefit under state or central schemes so far, the report found. She has expressed a wish to resume her education and take up vocational training in knitting and crochet if given the opportunity.

The court again drew on its ruling in Shalenbor Wahlang v. State of Meghalaya, which recognised the frequency of adolescent relationships in the state leading to early marriage or cohabitation, and held that a court may quash a POCSO case by consent where the victim's consent is genuine and informed, and imprisoning the accused would cause "great injustice" to the woman and the child born of the relationship.

Allowing the petition, the court directed the Child Protection Officer and District Legal Services Authority of East Khasi Hills to verify whether the woman or her child have received support under fifteen listed central and state schemes, ranging from the POCSO victim fund and Ayushman Bharat to Mission Vatsalya and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and to assist her in claiming any entitlements. Any compensation awarded under the Meghalaya Victim Compensation Scheme, 2022, is to be held in fixed deposit until she turns 25. The matter has been listed for a compliance report on 9 September 2026.