Invoking its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has quashed the conviction and sentence of a man under the POCSO Act as the victim married the accused on attaining the age of majority.Article 142 of the Constitution empowers the Supreme Court to pass any order necessary for doing “complete justice” in a case pending before it.The accused and the victim fell in love when she was in Class 12. As he refused to marry her, she lodged a complaint against him, leading to his conviction and 10-year-sentence under the POCSO Act for having sexual relations with a minor.On becoming a major, she married another man, who left her after coming to know of her previous relationship.Out on bail following suspension of sentence, the convicted man patched up with her and they got married; and started to live together. The victim girl filed a sworn affidavit on February 8, 2021 in the high court contending that the victim girl and the appellant were living together for the past four years and that they had settled the matter.The woman told the Madras High Court that she wished to depose in favour of the appellant and that the judgment of conviction of the appellant (her husband) may be set aside so that both of them could live peacefully in future.As the high court turned down the plea, the man moved the Supreme Court which interacted with the woman with the help of a lawyer who knew Tamil language. She told the bench that she had received Rs 10 lakh from the man as demanded by her.“It is specifically stated by her that in case conviction of the appellant is set aside, she has no objection,” a bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Atul S Chandurkar said.“However, to secure the social order and to maintain the life of two individuals as consented by both of them, the state government does not have any reservation if conviction may be set aside but it may not be treated as precedent for other cases,” the bench noted.“Therefore, at this stage, without entering into the merits of the case, in the peculiar facts, as narrated above, we deem it appropriate to exercise our plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India for setting aside the judgment of conviction and sentence of the appellant for the charge under Section 5(1) of POCSO Act and in terms of the statements as recorded and the appellant is acquitted from the charge,” the bench said in its May 26 order.Allowing her appeal and setting aside the conviction and sentence ordered by the Sessions court and confirmed by the high court on the basis of subsequent events, the top court said, “The appellant and the victim are left free to live their life peacefully in society as spouses.”The bench, however, made it clear that the present order has been passed in the peculiar facts of the case, therefore, it will not be treated as a precedent for any other purpose.”As the substantive jail sentence of the appellant was suspended by the high court by an order dated June 3, 2019, he need not surrender until required in any other case, it said.