Maharashtra: In rape cases, minor's consent isn't considered, says judge
A Thane court has observed that a minor's consent is "no consent in the eyes of law" while awarding seven years' rigorous imprisonment to a 31-year-old man for raping a teenage girl in 2015. District Judge PP Jadhav, in his order issued on September 12, also sentenced the accused, Devendra Gupta, to one-year rigorous imprisonment for house trespass. Both sentences will run concurrently.
Accused sneakily entered victim's house when she was alone
The incident took place on October 2, 2015, when the victim, then aged 16 years and studying in Class-11, was alone at her home in Kajuwadi locality in Thane as her parents and brother had gone out. While the girl was cooking food, the accused, a resident of the same locality, sneaked into the house, latched the door, gagged the victim, and raped her.
Accused was caught by the neighbors, but managed to escape
When the victim's mother knocked on the door, the accused got scared and tried to hide in the house. The victim opened the door and narrated the incident to her mother. Meanwhile, their neighbors gathered and caught hold of the accused but he managed to escape. A complaint against the accused was then filed at Vartak Nagar police station and he was subsequently arrested.
Accused and victim had sexual intercourse before
Judge Jadhav also revealed that prior to the incident, the accused even had sexual intercourse with the girl, who was unaware of the consequences. "Under such circumstances, considering the age of the victim, her consent is no consent in the eyes of law," he observed. He added that it's clear that Gupta entered the victim's house with an ulterior motive and sexually assaulted her.
