Delhi High Court: Personal Law Cannot Override POCSO, Dismisses Quashing Plea
Delhi High Court dismisses a plea to quash an FIR for rape under the BNS and POCSO Act, holding that personal law cannot override criminal statutes.
The Delhi High Court has held that a marriage contracted under personal law cannot be used to escape the rigours of a criminal statute, dismissing a petition that sought to quash a First Information Report (FIR) registered against a man for rape under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The petitioner had argued that the marriage between the parties, solemnised under Muslim personal law, should be recognised and that the criminal proceedings ought to be quashed on that basis. The court rejected this contention, observing that while personal law may determine whether a marriage has been validly contracted, it cannot create an exception to a criminal law where Parliament has chosen not to provide one.
The ruling underscores the principle that statutory criminal law, particularly a special law such as the POCSO Act, operates independently of personal law and cannot be overridden by it. The court's decision affirms that the validity of a marriage under personal law does not displace the operation of general or special criminal statutes enacted by the legislature.
The FIR in question had been registered against the man for offences of rape under the BNS and the POCSO Act. With the dismissal of the petition, the criminal proceedings against him will continue before the appropriate forum.