The High Court of Karnataka has expressed concern over the growing trend of “malicious parent syndrome”, the use of a child by a parent to settle scores with the other parent, by falsely portraying that the child was sexually assaulted by the other.
“The wrangling parents forget that they are projecting their own child to have been a subject of such assault. The negative impact of such projection on the psyche of the child is unimaginable. The parents should therefore ponder and introspect before making such allegations. If it [allegation] is true, law will take its course, but if it is projected [falsely] for the purpose of custody, as is done in the case at hand, there can be no bigger sin that the parents can commit,” the court observed.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna made these observations while quashing a false case of sexual assault on a minor girl registered, based on a complaint lodged by the girl’s biological father, who is the former husband of the girl’s mother, against the present husband of the girl’s mother.
The petitioner, who is the third and the present husband of girl’s mother, had questioned the legality of criminal proceedings initiated for alleged sexual assault registered both under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act against him by the complainant.
Girl’s statements
The court quashed the case after noticing that the girl’s voluntary statements, recorded twice by the judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Cr.PC in connection with two criminal cases lodged against the petitioner and the girl’s mother, in which the girl denied all allegations of sexual assault against the petitioner and others.
The girl, whose separate statements were recorded when she was 12 and 14 years, respectively, had also clarified to the magistrate that the complainant had “forced” her to memorise the false statement given against her mother, stepfather (petitioner), and maternal uncle, the court noted, while also pointing out that girl was unhappy with her biological father during her stay with him.
Though the girl’s mother and the biological father divorced in 2017, the custody of the girl remained with the mother and the father had visitation rights. However, as per the agreement, the girl was to stay with the non-travelling parent when one of the parent was travelling.
Multiple criminal cases
Subsequently, the girl’s mother married the petitioner and she left to the U.S. in 2018 to complete studies leaving the girl with the biological father, who did not handover the custody of the girl to her mother even after her return during mid 2019.
This resulted in registration of multiple criminal cases between the girl’s biological father and the mother, and the case of sexual assault was one among them. The complainant (biological father) had made the girl’s mother, maternal uncle, and the petitioner as accused. Though the chargesheet was filed only against the uncle, the trial court had taken cognisance even against the petitioner.
“It is clearly in gross abuse of the penal provisions by the complainant to settle his idiosyncratic scores with the child’s mother, who had left him and married the petitioner. It is unfortunate that the provisions of POCSO Act, which are meant to protect the child from abuse, are being misused by a protagonist of the crime in the case at hand,” the court observed.
