‘There Was Consent’: HC Acquits Man Serving Jail Term For Sexual Assault Of Minor In Odisha

Cuttack: The Orissa high court recently acquitted a 45-year-old man, who has been in jail for nearly 10 years on the charge of raping a minor, saying that the victim’s statement claiming that she did not give consent to the sexual act was “not sufficient to convict the accused”.

The court also observed that the survivor’s statement was not corroborated by evidence provided on the record. The victim was 17 years old at the time of the incident and accompanied the accused to the jungle every day fully aware that he was married and had four kids. Neither did she raise any objection about the act, nor disclose it to anyone till she was found to be pregnant, Justice S K Sahoo said quoting the case records. “Therefore, in my humble view, she was a consenting party. Consent or absence of it could be gathered from the attendant circumstances. Previous or contemporaneous acts or the subsequent conduct can be legitimate guide,” he observed in his July 5 verdict.

The decision assumes significance amid the growing debate about lowering the age of consent. The court, however, ruled that the compensation amount paid to the girl need not be recovered from her.

Santanu Kaudi had challenged the verdict of additional session court in Sundargarh, which convicted him of rape on August 14, 2018, five years after the girl’s father lodged an FIR.