Bengaluru: The High Court has expressed serious concern about parents experimenting with malicious behavior on children and has ordered to quash the trial court proceedings in the case where the daughter was sexually molested by her stepfather.
The High Court has expressed concern about the process by which a divorced couple is filing a false case to get the custody of their minor children. The bench headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, who heard the petition filed against the woman’s husband by the first husband, gave this order.
Due to the confusion in the family, parents accuse their own children of sexual abuse and then forget about it. However, the negative impact such cases can have on a child cannot be predicted. Therefore, before making such accusations, parents should think and introspect, the court said.
If such allegations are true, the law will do its duty. However, in the present case, there is no greater sin than filing a false complaint for the purpose of not giving custody of the child, the bench said. It is clear that the law has been misused to agitate the woman for being married to the petitioner. The court opined that it is unfortunate that the POCSO Act, which is intended to protect children from violence, has also been misused.
In the case, the girl’s mother and biological father got divorced in 2017. However, the girl was given to her mother. The father was allowed to visit the child. However, according to the agreement, the girl child had to stay with the parent at home without traveling when either of the parents traveled to distant towns.
The mother had left the daughter with her third husband (petitioner) when she went abroad for her studies. Enraged by this, the first husband filed a complaint against his ex-wife’s third husband and a relative, alleging that his daughter was sexually harassed, and a charge sheet was filed in connection with the complaint. The third husband, who had questioned this, had approached the High Court challenging the investigation of the case registered against him under various sections of the IPC and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act.
A recently divorced husband or wife is refusing to visit the children in their custody, thus seeking a court order to deny him or her access to the father or mother, thereby depriving the child of involvement in the child’s school and extracurricular activities. The court said that many such matters have come to the notice of the court.
