Nainital: The Uttarakhand High Court has asked the state government to examine whether arrests can be avoided in cases involving minor boys and girls going on a ‘date’ and complaints lodged by the parents of the girls in this regard. A division bench of Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal asked the government to examine whether recording a statement under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure would be sufficient to avoid arresting the boy.
General guidelines issued to police department
The court said that at the most, he can be summoned to advise him not to indulge in these things but should not be arrested. It said the state government can look into the matter and issue general guidelines to the police department. The court’s order came on a PIL questioning the propriety of arresting a minor boy for going on a ‘date’ with a minor girl in a case registered on the complaint of the girl’s parents as it is not an offence under sections 3,4,5,6 and 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The PIL filed by advocate Manisha Bhandari states that in such cases, boys are generally considered criminals and punished, which is not fair. The matter will now be heard on August 6.