Pocso accused gets bail to marry survivor in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: A sessions court at the Mirzapur rural court campus granted regular bail to a 26-year-old Pocso accused so that he could wed the victim with much fanfare. This was the request not only from the accused, but from the survivor and her family too.
In this case, the accused and the girl, both residents of Shantipura village in the outskirts of Ahmedabad, eloped in 2017. The girl was a minor then. Her father lodged an FIR. The man was booked for abduction, molestation, rape under Indian Penal Code as well as under provisions of Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. The couple returned few months ago during the lockdown and the accused was arrested on the basis of the FIR registered by the girl’s father.
However, the situation changed in three years. The families of the accused and the survivor settled the dispute and decided to arrange a wedding for them with traditional celebration. The accused filed a bail plea and the girl and her father too filed an affidavit.
They submitted before the court that it was not a case of abduction and rape, but they were in love and they lived together as husband and wife. They even got married by performing religious rituals, but since the rituals took place during the lockdown period, it was a simple wedding. But, now since the differences between the families have been resolved, the accused may be released on bail so that the families could arrange the wedding again according to the social tradition with much fanfare.
The state government opposed the bail plea citing gravity of charges. But the court said that the victim was missing for a long time. She is adult now.
The affidavit suggested that a compromise has taken place, and the victim and her father have no issue if the accused is released on bail.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)