'Want to withdraw case, not under any coercion'; HC's final decision in Pantheerankavu domestic violence case

KOCHI: The Kerala high court has decided to send both the complainant and the accused in the Pantheerankavu domestic violence case to mandatory counselling sessions. The final court decision will come after considering the report of the counsellor. Justice Badruddin's bench reached this decision while considering the petition filed by the accused Rahul asking to quash the case.

Kerala State Legal Services Authority(KeLsa) has been instructed to complete the counselling session for both. After counselling, the report should be submitted to the court in a sealed envelope.

The complainant informed the court that she was willing to withdraw the complaint and cleared the air saying that her decision was not under any coercion. The court pointed the allegations against the accused as ‘serious’ but assured that the court would not again intrude in their life if they decided to live together happily.

The case will be considered again on the 21st of this month. Both of them had earlier approached the court demanding that the case be closed according to mutual agreement.