PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 29 -- The Allahabad High Court quashed criminal proceedings under the POCSO Act against a man who married the alleged victim as the victim also favoured quashing and denied the allegations made by her father while lodging the FIR. The court observed that forcing a happily married couple to face trial merely to record a hostile testimony would be an "irony of fate" and an "instrument of harassment". Justice Kshitij Shailendra allowed the plea of one Ashwani Anand observing that it cannot remain a "silent spectator" or "mere bystander" when the ends of justice demand immediate intervention. The court in its order dated November 21 said that the "pious duty" of a Judge is to "wipe every tear from every eye" and that the purpose of law is not to create problems for society but to find solutions. The court observed, "Compelling a lady in such matters to visit court premises for months and years for the purposes of getting her own husband acquitted where he is facing threat of punishment for doing something wrong with his wife which she does not admit, would be an instrument of harassment." The facts of the case were that an FIR was lodged by the father of the girl alleging that his daughter had been abducted by the petitioner in April 2024. The police after investigation filed a chargesheet in the case, though the victim had denied the allegations in her statement before the police and had stated that she left her parent's home willingly and denied any physical relationship with the accused at that time. htc...