PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 22 -- The Allahabad high court has quashed criminal proceedings against a rape accused booked under the POCSO Act and Indian Penal Code in 2017, noting that he had married the survivor "long way back". Notably, the girl in her statement before the police had said that she went with the accused on her own will as she was not a minor and the man had not enticed her away. Justice Vivek Kumar Singh allowed the petition filed by Wasiullah and two others who sought quashing of the criminal case against them pending before a trial court in Sant Kabir Nagar. In its judgement, dated November 20, the court observed, "In the present case, the applicant no.1 and the victim have solemnized their marriage and a baby boy was born out of their wedlock and they are living a happy married life for the last several years and the opposite party no.2/first informant has also entered into settlement agreement before the Mediation Centre of this Court, and if the proceedings of the Trial Court is not quashed by this Court, the applicant no.1 and the victim and their family members may sustain legal injury." "In view of the subsequent development, the criminality, if any, committed by the applicants now stands washed off. As such, no useful purpose would be served in prolonging the criminal prosecution of the applicants". The FIR in the case was lodged in January 2017 at Bakhira police station, Sant Kabir Nagar, by the girl's father, alleging that his minor daughter had been enticed away by the main accused. She was recovered the same month and stated in her Section 161 CrPC statement that she had gone voluntarily and was a major. During the pendency of the trial, the accused and the girl married and began living together. Their son was born in August 2018....