Disposed¶19

Shubham v. Union of India & Ors.

Delhi HC2 Apr 2026W.P.(CRL)/423/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

POCSO Section 2(d) constitutionality; consent of children aged 16-18; doctrine of reading down; ultra vires; charge-framing order 13.09.2022 ASJ Dwarka; SC No. 176/2022; FIR No. 73/2022 PS Dabri; Section 363 IPC; Section 6 read with Section 5(j)(ii) POCSO; acquittal 29.11.2025 Special Judge; Harsh Vibhore Singhal v. Union of India & Ors. W.P. (Civil) No.700/2023; petition disposed with liberty to revive; Delhi High Court W.P.(CRL) 423/2023.

What did the court decide?

Liberty reserved to the petitioner to revive the petition in case anything survives in the present petition; Status Report of respondent no. 2 taken on record. ¶19

Shubham Vs Union of India & Ors. — Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) | Delhi HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Liberty reserved to the petitioner to revive the petition in case anything survives in the present petition; Status Report of respondent no. 2 taken on record.

¶19

Issue for consideration

Whether Section 2(d) of the POCSO Act should be struck down as ultra vires the Constitution, or alternatively read down/re-interpreted to recognise consent given by children aged 16-18 years. +1 more

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Court's answer

As far as the challenge to Section 2(d) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 is concerned, the same is pending adjudication before the Supreme Court in W.P. (Civil) No.700/2023 (Harsh Vibhore Singhal v. Union of India & Ors.), and was accordingly not decided in this petition.

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Ratio / Principle

Prayer (b) of the petition has been rendered infructuous, as the petitioner has since been acquitted of all charges by order dated 29.11.2025 of the learned Special Judge in SC No. 176/2022.

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Key takeaways

The petition is disposed of, with liberty reserved to the petitioner to revive the same in case anything survives in the present petition.ratio¶19

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Delhi High Court (Navin Chawla & Ravinder Dudeja, JJ.) disposed of W.P.(CRL) 423/2023 filed by Shubham, which sought (a) striking down of Section 2(d) of the POCSO Act, 2012 as ultra vires the Constitution or, alternatively, its reading down to recognise consent of children aged 16-18 years, and (b) setting aside of the order dated 13.09.2022 of the Ld. ASJ, Dwarka Courts in SC No. 176/2022 (out of FIR No. 73/2022, PS Dabri, u/s 363 IPC) framing charges under Section 6 read with Section 5(j)(ii) POCSO. The court recorded that the Section 2(d) challenge is pending before the Supreme Court in Harsh Vibhore Singhal v. Union of India & Ors., W.P. (Civil) No.700/2023, and that prayer (b) stood rendered infructuous as the petitioner had been acquitted of all charges on 29.11.2025 by the learned Special Judge in SC No. 176/2022. Petition disposed of with liberty to revive if anything survives.

¶1

$~4

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + W.P.(CRL) 423/2023 & CRL.M.A. 3934/2023 SHUBHAM .....Petitioner

¶3

Through: None.

¶4

versus

¶5

UNION OF INDIA & ORS. .....Respondents Through: Ms.Arunima Dwivedi, CGSC with Ms.Himanshi Singh, Adv. Mr.Yasir Rauf Ansari, ASC (Crl.) with Mr.Alok Sharma, Adv. for State

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Mr.Harsh Prabhakar, Adv. (Amicus Curiae) with Mr.Shubham Saurav and Mr.Vijit Singh, Advs. for R-3

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CORAM:

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HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAVINDER DUDEJA

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O R D E R % 02.04.2026

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This petition has been filed praying for the following reliefs:

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“a) Strike down section 2(d) of the POCSO Act and declare the same ultra virus to constitution or in Alternative apply the doctrine of reading down and re-interpret the draconian provisions of POCSO, thereby recognizing consent given by children falling between the ages of 16-18.

¶12

b) Set aside the Order dated 13.09.2022 passed by the Hon‟ble Court of Sh. Gopal Singh Chauhan, Ld. ASJ, Dwarka Courts, New Delhi in SC No. 176/2022 emanating out of FIR No. 73/2022 dated 14.01.2022 lodged at PS. Dabri u/s 363 of IPC whereby charges have been framed against the

¶13

This is a digitally signed order.

¶14

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 06/04/2026 at 13:31:27

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Petitioner/Accused under Section 6 read with Section 5(j) (ii) of POCSO and discharge the Petitioner/Accused from the above mentioned offences as made out in the chargesheet;”

¶16

As far as the challenge to Section 2(d) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 is concerned, the same is pending adjudication before the Supreme Court in W.P. (Civil) No.700/2023, titled Harsh Vibhore Singhal v. Union of India & Ors. .

¶17

The learned counsel for the respondent no.2 points out that as far as prayer (b) is concerned, the same has been rendered infructuous inasmuch as the petitioner has since been acquitted of all charges by order dated 29.11.2025 passed by the learned Special Judge in SC No. 176/2022.

¶18

The Status Report, filed by the learned counsel for the respondent no. 2, is taken on record.

¶19

In view of the above, the petition is disposed of, however, reserving liberty in the petitioner to revive the same in case anything survives in the present petition.

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NAVIN CHAWLA, J

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RAVINDER DUDEJA, J

¶22

APRIL 2, 2026/sg/as

¶23

This is a digitally signed order.

¶24

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 06/04/2026 at 13:31:27

Shubham v. Union of India & Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Shubham v. Union of India & Ors.

Case brief

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What the court decided

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