Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a daughter sexual abuse case filed by a man against his wife's third husband.
While hearing the case, a bench headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna expressed concern over a recent trend of malevolent parent syndrome that has emerged in child custody disputes. The syndrome often occurs in divorced parents who target each other to gain custody of the child or even end up filing charges of alleged sexual abuse of their own children in order to defame the other parent. The negative impact such cases can have on a child is enormous and parents should think and introspect before making a similar claim, the court said.
The court further said that if the allegations are true, the law will take its course, but in the present case, there is no greater sin than filing a false complaint to deny custody of the child, the court added, adding that it was clear that the law was abused to anger the woman because she was married to the plaintiff. The court found it unfortunate that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, which is intended to protect children from violence, was misused here.
The case dates back to 2019. The girl's mother and biological father divorced in 2017 and custody was transferred to her mother. The father was allowed to visit the girl, but she had to stay at home with her parents when one of the parents traveled to distant cities.
When her mother later went abroad to study, the girl stayed behind with her mother's third husband. The girl's biological father was angry about this and filed a complaint against his wife's third husband and a relative, alleging that his daughter had been sexually harassed. An indictment was filed in this regard.
The third husband then approached the Supreme Court challenging the case registered against him under various sections of the IPC and POCSO Act.
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