Karnataka High Court quashes POCSO case against child’s father, citing abuse of law by mother due to marital discord

Bengaluru Observing that children’s innocence must not become parents’ battleground for vengeance, the High Court of Karnataka has quashed a criminal case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against a man and his family members by his wife, alleging sexual assault on their three-year-old daughter. “A child cannot be reduced to a weapon in the armoury of an estranged spouse. The innocence of childhood cannot be made the currency with which matrimonial scores are settled. Equally, the protection of a child cannot be sacrificed at the altar of a parent’s claim of false implication,” the court observed. Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing a petition filed by a 35-year-old man, his father, mother and brother, challenging the criminal case registered against them in May this year by his 33-year-old wife.