The court noted that it is encountering multiple cases in which girls over 17 elope with men of their choosing, and when they are apprehended, their parents pressure them to alter their statements to the police.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court noted that teenage romance and related offenses occupy a “legal grey area,” raising questions about whether such situations should be classified as offenses.
The court observed an increasing number of cases in which girls over 17 elope with their chosen partners, only for their parents to compel them to alter their statements to the police once they are found.
Justice Subramonium Prasad pointed out that the police often document these revised statements, which frequently conflict with the victims’ initial accounts. He highlighted that many statements recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) do not align with the earlier statements made under Section 161, leading to contradictions.
The court noted, “This Court has encountered several cases where girls over 17 elope with boys of their choice, and when apprehended, their parents compel them to alter their statements to the police. The police later record these statements, which often contradict the victims’ initial accounts. Most statements recorded under Section 164 of the Cr.P.C do not align with the earlier statements given under Section 161, leading to inconsistencies.”
The court referenced the decision in Sahil v. State of NCT of Delhi, 2024, and cited Anant Janardhan Sunatkari v. State of Maharashtra, 2021, in which the Bombay High Court, addressing a case involving a 19-year-old convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl, granted bail to the accused.
The court remarked,
“I recognize that consensual sex between minors exists in a legal grey area, as the consent provided by a minor is not deemed valid under the law.”
The petitioner had been in custody since April 19, 2022, and a charge sheet had already been filed. The court stated that conditions could be imposed to prevent the petitioner from contacting the victim, emphasizing that continued detention would be detrimental to the petitioner’s future, given his age.
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BACKGROUND
An FIR was filed by the minor girl’s father in January 2022, alleging that the accused had misled his daughter and taken her away.
The girl was rescued in March 2022.
In her initial statement, the girl reported that after informing her mother, she went to a friend’s house, where she had arranged to meet the accused. They purchased tickets to Madhya Pradesh and rented a place to stay. When she learned of the criminal case filed by her father, they returned to Delhi and called the police.
However, 23 days later, the girl made a revised statement, claiming that the accused had told her her parents were searching for her and would kill her if she returned home. She stated that they had gone to Madhya Pradesh together and had been living there, but when she asked him to take her back to her parents, he refused.
She alleged that his father and uncle had come to Madhya Pradesh, taken them to Bihar, confined her, gagged her, and prepared forged documents for a court marriage, which was subsequently solemnized.
Eventually, the man’s father brought the girl back to Delhi and handed her over to the police, as she claimed.
In granting bail, the high court noted that there was a “material improvement” in the girl’s second statement compared to her first.
Accordingly, the Court allowed the Bail Application.
Case Title: Shubham v. State of NCT of Delhi
