In Brief
In 2005, a minor girl left her home to be with the appellant, her boyfriend. Her father filed a kidnapping complaint. The girl later married the appellant and they lived together for 15 years with a child. In 2020, both the appellant and the girl (now adult) petitioned to quash the criminal case, stating she had left voluntarily due to family conflict and married consensually. The High Court dismissed the petition, but the Supreme Court allowed the appeal, quashing the FIR and proceedings. The Court held that since the alleged victim clearly stated she left of her own free will and married without coercion, the ingredients of kidnapping and abduction offences were not satisfied, and no purpose would be served by conducting a trial after 15 years of married life.
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