Overview
- A two-judge bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih set aside the 2018 conviction under Section 366 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
- Relief was granted on the condition that the man must not desert his wife and child and must maintain them for the rest of their lives with dignity, with a warning of consequences for any breach.
- The Court recorded that the couple married in 2021, are living together, and have an infant son, based on the wife's affidavit and confirmation from the Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority.
- The judgment stated the offence in this case was "not the result of lust but love" and invoked Article 142 to do complete justice.
- The Court stressed the ruling is confined to the case's unique facts and shall not be treated as a precedent, noting earlier findings by a Chennai trial court and the Madras High Court that had upheld the conviction.