Mother Cannot Settle POCSO Case Against Father Accused of Sexually Assaulting Minor Daughter: Kerala HC [Read Order]

Location: The Kerala High Court has dismissed a second bail application filed by a man accused of sexually assaulting his own minor daughter, holding that a compromise between the accused and the victim's mother cannot override the State's duty to prosecute offences against children. 

A Single Judge Bench of Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath, dismissing the application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, held that offences involving sexual assault of a minor are not compoundable and that no settlement by a parent could entitle the accused to bail.

The applicant, aged 50, was the sole accused in a case registered at Chalakkudy Police Station, Thrissur District, for offences punishable under Sections 10, 9(l), 9(n), 12 and 11(i) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. According to the prosecution, the applicant, father of the victim, then aged 17, touched her thighs on 10 April 2026 with intent to commit sexual assault. It was further alleged that in February and March 2026, at around 1:00 a.m., he had touched her breast and made sexually coloured remarks. The applicant was remanded to judicial custody on 17 April 2026 and has remained in custody since.

Appearing for the applicant, counsel submitted that he was innocent and had been falsely implicated, and that no materials existed on record connecting him with the alleged crime. It was further submitted that following the dismissal of his first bail application, the matter had been settled between the applicant and the victim's mother, who had expressed her willingness for him to be granted bail. The Senior Public Prosecutor opposed the application, submitting that the alleged incident was part of the applicant's intentional criminal conduct and that he was not entitled to bail at this stage.

Describing the case as depicting “the tragic plight of a minor girl” who was repeatedly subjected to sexual exploitation by her own father, the Court noted that the accusation was grave and prima facie disclosed a premeditated criminal act, and that the victim had narrated in her statement how she was subjected to sexual assault. The Court observed that the first bail application had been dismissed having regard to the nature of the crime, its gravity, and the relationship between the applicant and the victim, and remarked that the mother's decision to settle the matter, in disregard of her daughter's welfare, was “a situation aptly described as the fence itself devouring the crop.”

The Court noted that although the mother, in an affidavit filed as Annexure-3, had stated that the matter had been settled and that she did not wish to prosecute the case further, she had not contended that the incident did not occur her case rested solely on the claim of a subsequent settlement. Relying on the earlier decision in Vishnu v. State of Kerala, 2023 (3) KLT 754, the Court reiterated that offences involving sexual assault of a minor are not compoundable, holding that “the law does not permit parents or guardians of a minor victim to compromise, withdraw, or express no objection to the continuation of criminal proceedings or to the grant of bail in relation to an offence of incestuous sexual assault.”

The Court held that any compromise or out-of-court settlement effected by the parents of a minor victim with the object of stifling a criminal prosecution cannot receive the sanction of law, and cannot override the State's duty to prosecute offences against children. It further observed that courts, in exercise of their parens patriae jurisdiction, bear a bounden duty to safeguard the rights of minor victims of sexual assault even where parents fail to do so, and that the compromise in the present case could therefore not be accepted.

Holding that the applicant could not be released on bail for the aforementioned reasons, the Court dismissed the bail application.

Appearances:

For the Petitioner: Adv. Shri. Jerry Mathew.

For the Respondents/State: Smt. Aneeda Beegum, Senior Public Prosecutor.

Case Details: Bail Application No. 4130 of 2026

[Read Order]