Summons Under POCSO Act Can Be Issued Only to Accused Named in Complaint or Chargesheet: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Court cannot issue summons to persons not named as accused in a complaint or chargesheet. The Court clarified that under Sections 190 and 193 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), a Special Judge under the POCSO Act can take cognizance of the offence only based on information in the complaint or chargesheet and summon the accused accordingly.

 

The Court held that the Special Judge does not have the authority to summon other individuals merely on the basis of a police report or information not included in the chargesheet. This decision came while quashing a summons order dated May 29, 2024, issued by a Special POCSO Court to several petitioners who were not named as accused in the chargesheet.

 

Justice Saurabh Srivastava’s bench passed the order while allowing a petition filed by the petitioners. Advocate Santosh Kumar Singh, appearing for the petitioners, argued that no evidence existed to summon them, as they were not named in the FIR or chargesheet.

 

The case arose from an FIR registered at Khiro police station under Sections 363, 366, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 16/17 of the POCSO Act. The investigating officer filed a chargesheet naming only one accused, Ajit Kumar. Despite this, the Special Court had summoned the petitioners without any supporting material.

 

The High Court observed that under the CrPC, once a chargesheet is filed, the Court can summon only those named as accused. If fresh material emerges later, a separate proceeding must be initiated. Summoning other individuals without any legal basis renders the order invalid.

 

Accordingly, the Court declared the summons illegal and quashed the Special Judge’s order.