The Meghalaya High Court has quashed a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case registered in 2022 against a man from East Khasi Hills, observing that continuing the criminal proceedings would serve no useful purpose as the couple have been living together as husband and wife for several years and are raising their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere passed the order on July 6 in Criminal Petition No. 75 of 2026, setting aside the FIR registered at Rynjah Police Station on July 2, 2022, along with the Special POCSO case pending before the Special Judge of East Khasi Hills.
The petition was jointly filed by Adrain Kharmyndai and the woman involved in the case, both of whom informed the court that their relationship had been consensual from the beginning. At the time of the incident, the man was 19 years old while the woman was 16 years and two months old. They are now 25 and 20 years old respectively.
Following an earlier direction, the couple appeared before the Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee, whose report confirmed that they reside together with their daughter in rented accommodation along with the man’s parents and sisters. The report stated that the man, who studied up to Class XI, works as a jeep driver earning between Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000 per month, while the woman, educated up to Class IX, is currently unemployed. It noted that the couple intend to solemnise their marriage and that the woman had voluntarily chosen to live with him and had no objection to the criminal case being quashed.
The court relied on its earlier judgment in Shalenbor Wahlang v. State of Meghalaya, which recognised that adolescent relationships in the state often lead to early marriage or cohabitation. It observed that courts may exercise their inherent powers to quash POCSO proceedings where the victim’s consent is genuine and informed, and where continuing the prosecution would cause hardship to the woman and the child born from the relationship.
While allowing the petition, the High Court directed the Child Protection Officer and the District Legal Services Authority of East Khasi Hills to verify whether the woman and her child have received benefits under various central and state welfare schemes. The authorities were instructed to assist them in accessing any eligible entitlements. The court also ordered that any compensation sanctioned under the Meghalaya Victim Compensation Scheme, 2022, be kept in a fixed deposit until the woman attains the age of 25 years.
The matter has been listed on September 9, 2026, for submission of a compliance report.
