Fake Child Abuse Charges In Marital Cases Have Serious Consequences: Kerala High Court

Marital disputes leading to false allegations of child sexual exploitation by a father can have severe and far-reaching consequences for all parties involved, the Kerala High Court has observed while setting aside the prosecution of a father in a POCSO case.

Justice P V Kunhikrishnan said the 2016 case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against a Thiruvananthapuram resident, the father of a three-year-old, was "frivolous" and "false".

In the July 22 order of the Kerala High Court, the judge said it was the duty of the court to see that there is no false allegation against parents, especially when there is a dispute regarding the custody of children.

The case was registered based on a statement given by the mother of the victim, the court said, adding that it was an unfortunate case in which a minor girl was used by her own mother as a weapon to fight against her husband.

The court reached a conclusion that the prosecution against the father in the case was a frivolous and false complaint from the mother to get custody of the child.

The court noted that even the three-year-old child who was "tutored to depose" against her own father, told the magistrate that she likes her father more than her mother.

This is a fit case in which the prosecution against the petitioner -- who is the father of the victim -- is to be quashed in the light of the above discussions, it said.

"I am more disturbed because the child gave a Section 164 CrPC. statement, which is extracted in the earlier paragraph of this judgment, in which she stated that she likes her father and mother and she likes her father more.

"Such a loving father is prosecuted by the mother of the child alleging serious allegations of the POCSO Act," the court said.

In the order, Justice Kunhikrishnan said the names of such culprits should be disclosed to the public, "so that the man who was defamed because of their complaint could stand before his child and society with dignity".

"But considering the privacy of the child I refrain from doing so," the court said.

It also asked the POCSO courts that try cases like this in which an accusation of sexual abuse is made against parents of the minor child, especially when there is a custody dispute, "to look into the facts again and again" before deciding the cases.

"All cases will be decided by all courts with great caution. But these types of cases should be dealt with very seriously because if the allegations are correct, that is serious; but if the allegations are false, a man is crucified without any substance and he will be defamed in society because of such allegations," it said.

The court said false allegations can cause immense emotional distress for the accused, the child and other family members, and the accused may have to face the trauma of criminal charges even if the allegations are later proven false.

"Matrimonial disputes leading to false allegations of child sexual exploitation by a father can have severe and far reaching consequences for all parties involved. The accused may suffer social ostracisation, damage to reputation and loss of community stand," it said.

The court also noted that the false allegations can lead to family breakdown, custody battles and long term psychological effects on the child.

The high court quashed the proceedings against the father of the child which were before a special court in Attingal and the case registered against him at Mangalapuram police station.

The judge also quoted a popular Malayalam movie song, "Suryanayi Thazhuki urakkamunarthumen achaneyanenikkishtam", penned by noted musician Kaithappram Damodaran Namboothiri, in this context.

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