Karnataka High Court Dismisses Criminal Case Against Mother Accused of Selling Her Daughter Due to Poverty.
The Karnataka High Court has dismissed the criminal case against a mother accused of selling her daughter for Rs. 15,000 to a married man. The court recognized that the mother was very poor and could not care for her child. The mother had filed a petition under Section 482 of the CrPC after being charged under Section 370 along with Section 34 of the IPC and Section 81 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. She was accused of selling her daughter, born from a relationship with another man after her husband left her. The mother claimed she could not support her child and gave the baby to a married man who wanted to adopt her but did not follow the proper adoption process.
Justice K. Natarajan noted, “After reviewing the arguments and records, it is clear that the petitioner had a female child from a relationship with another man and was very poor. She later met accused No. 2 and sold the child to accused No. 3, a married man without children for 14 years, who wanted to adopt her. Although there was a breach of JJ Rules since the petitioner handed over the child without following the adoption process, selling the child for Rs. 15,000 was the action taken.” Advocate Sharada N. represented the mother, while HCGP M.M. Waheeda represented the other side.
A Child Protection Officer (CPO) filed a complaint, which resulted in an FIR against the Petitioner. The prosecution claimed that the Petitioner sold her child to a married man for Rs. 15,000. The police later rescued the child in Maharashtra. The Petitioner argued that she was abandoned and had an 11-year-old son. She explained that as a coolie, she could not support the child, so she chose to sell her to the married man. The man, who had no children, wanted to adopt the child but did not follow the proper steps. It was argued that he did not intend to exploit the child, and the Court had already dismissed the criminal case against him.
The High Court noted that the Petitioner broke the JJ Act by giving the child away without proper adoption procedures, but there was no proof of any criminal intent. The Court pointed out that the criminal case against the married man was dismissed in April 2024, stating that there was no offense under Section 370 of IPC and no intention to abduct or traffic the child. The Court recognized that the married man’s genuine intention was to adopt the child. Therefore, it concluded that there was no reason to continue the trial against the Petitioner and dismissed the criminal proceedings against her as well.
Cause Title: Mandara v. State & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024:KHC:44144)
