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'R' v. 'E' & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1049Decided 24 Sept 2026
Civil Appeal No. 13119 of 2026 with Criminal Appeal Nos. 4533-4534 and 4535-4536 of 2026
Justice J.B. Pardiwala · Justice K.V. Viswanathan

Background

A husband ('R') and wife ('E') separated in 2018 after a troubled second marriage, and a bitter custody battle followed over their daughter ('M'), eventually resulting in custody being given to the father with visitation rights for the mother. While the father's appeal about visitation terms was pending in the Supreme Court, the mother lodged a fresh FIR in 2024 accusing the father and his family of sexually abusing the child under the POCSO Act. The Supreme Court, concerned about the seriousness of the allegation, transferred the investigation to the CBI and had the child examined by a specialist panel including child psychiatrists from NIMHANS.

Decision Breakdown

The CBI's detailed report, based on witness examinations, CCTV footage analysis, and psychiatric/psychological evaluation of the child, concluded that the allegations were not reliable, were contradicted by other evidence, and appeared linked to the ongoing custody dispute rather than genuine abuse. The Supreme Court accepted this report, quashed the FIR as an abuse of process, and also quashed a related, older FIR against the mother. It confirmed that custody of the child should remain with the father, applying the "best interest of the child" principle. Recognising a broader pattern of the POCSO Act being misused as a tactic in matrimonial/custody disputes, the Court laid down specific safeguards to be followed whenever a POCSO allegation is made by one parent against another parent (or a family member) during a pending matrimonial dispute, including caution before arrest, and closer judicial scrutiny of such complaints, and directed that these safeguards be circulated to all criminal courts and police stations in the country.

Lesson Learnt

A criminal complaint under a special protective law like POCSO is not automatically true merely because it was registered; courts must carefully scrutinise such allegations, especially when they surface during an acrimonious custody battle, since false accusations of this kind cause lasting damage both to the falsely accused parent and to the child caught in the middle.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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