GUWAHATI: The Assam federal governments crackdown on kid marriage that led to the arrest of countless individuals drew hard concerns from the Gauhati high court, which approved anticipatory bail to 9 individuals while observing that the drive had actually created havoc in the personal lives of people .
It stated these are not matters for custodial interrogation .
Justice Suman Shyam observed, orally, that the charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and rape charges against kid marital relationship accused are definitely weird claims.
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There are children, member of the family, old people ...
obviously it is a bad concept, the judge stated on Tuesday.
You continue as per law, we have nothing to state.
If you discover somebody guilty, file a chargesheet.
Let him or her face trial and if they are founded guilty, they are convicted, the judge said.Granting immediate bail to the 9 people who had moved court, Justice Shyam observed, If marriage is occurring in infraction of law, the law will take its own course ...
We will only think about if immediate custodial interrogation is required or not.
At this minute, this court believes that these are not matters for custodial interrogation.
We will ask to appear and tape their statements.
These are not NDPS, smuggling, taken property cases.
Justice Shyam asked the federal government advocate, What do you get by custodial interrogation? Either he has abetted or he has not.
Either its a case of child marriage or it is not.
For that, is it essential to have custodial interrogation? What is the concept behind this? Till February 14, an overall of 3,031 people have actually been apprehended against the registration of 4,225 child marital relationship cases.
The crackdown had begun on February 3 with 4,004 FIRs.When the government advocate pointed out that cases were signed up under non-bailable charges under the Pocso Act and rape under IPC Sec 376, Justice Shyam said, What is the Pocso here? Merely due to the fact that Pocso is included, does it imply the judges will not see what is there? We are not acquitting anybody here.
Nobody is preventing you to probe (sic).
Why Section 376 (of IPC)? Exists any allegation of rape here? These are all strange claims, the judge observed.The judge also sought the viewpoint of Angshuman Bora, a popular criminal lawyer, on the large-scale arrests.
Bora stated, They are not feared wrongdoers.
At this stage, they (state) can file the chargesheet and subsequently, when the matter turns up in court, it will be decided as per the law.
Bora also stated the message against kid marital relationship can also otherwise be offered by filing the chargesheet and sensitising individuals instead of arresting everyone .