Mumbai: Upholding a 10-year sentence for a man against whom his wife had lodged a rape complaint, the Bombay High Court ruled that consensual sex with a minor wife constitutes rape.
The court observed that the legal defence for such an act cannot be accepted under the law, reported the India Today. This observation was made by the Nagpur Bench of the High Court.
“It needs to be stated that sexual intercourse with a girl below 18 years of age is rape, regardless of whether she is married or not,” said Justice GA Sanap, as quoted by India Today.
The bench upheld the conviction of the man as ordered by a lower court. The man had engaged in forcible sexual intercourse with the complainant and impregnated her. He later married her. However, their marital relationship deteriorated. This prompted the woman to lodge a complaint against him.
“Even if it is assumed for the sake of argument that there was a so-called marriage between them, in view of the allegations made by the victim that it was sexual intercourse against her consent, it would constitute rape,” the HC observed, according to the India Today report.
The man, neighbour of the complainant, was in a romantic relationship with her for about 3 to 4 years when she was residing in Maharashtra’s Wardha with her father, sisters, and grandmother. The complainant had lodged the complaint in 2019, claiming that she had consistently rejected his advances for physical intimacy. But the man eventually coerced her into a sexual relationship, resulting in her pregnancy.
The man staged a “farce marriage” ceremony in a rented room with the presence of some neighbours. But he was abusive towards her and pressured her to undergo an abortion. He later denied paternity. Unable to bear the torture, the woman lodged a complaint, leading to the man’s arrest. His lawyer had argued that the sexual relationship was consensual and the survivor was his wife.
Justice Sanap said the submission of the defence counsel cannot be accepted. The bench also observed that the DNA report confirmed that the convict and the woman were biological parents of the male child born out of the relationship.
