Case Law Analysis
|Patna High Court
POCSO Act | Consensual Elopement with Minor Does Not Automatically Justify Arrest: Patna HC Grants Anticipatory Bail
Patna High Court rules that mere consensual elopement with a minor, even under POCSO, does not mandate arrest if the victim retracts allegations and asserts a consensual relationship. The court emphasized that bail considerations must weigh the victim’s testimony and lack of prima facie coercion, reinforcing that arrest is not a mechanical outcome under POCSO.