Consensual sex with minor wife is rape: Bombay High Court

Consensual sex with a minor wife constitutes rape, and any legally justify such actions will now not be tolerated by the law, the Bombay High Court has ruled. The Nagpur division of the High Court made this observation while handing over its judgment in a case involving a person accused of raping his wife. The court sentenced the person to 10 years in prison. The bench, led by Justice G.A. Sanap, emphasized that the age of consent is eighteen years or older. “It needs to be stated that sexual activity with a girl less than 18 years of age is assumed of as rape, no matter whether she is married or now not,” Justice Sanap stated.

The defence of consensual sex is now not available the total way throughout the law when the age of the wife is less than 18 years, the High Court said.

The accused man became sentenced to a 10-year sentence of rigorous imprisonment.

From the important points gathered, the person had forced intimate members of the family with the woman, resulting in her becoming pregnant. In time, they did wed. But life as a pair proved quite trying, and it brought the woman to some degree where she felt compelled to file charges against her husband.

“Despite the truth that it truly is some distance assumed for the sake of argument that there became a so-sometimes called marriage between them, in view of the allegations made by the victim that it became sexual activity against her consent, it could well maybe constitute rape,” the High Court said.

The accused became the victim’s neighbour when she used to reside along with her father, sisters and grandmother in Wardha.

The person accused and the survivor was once once lovers for around three to four years earlier than she made a formal complaint in 2019. At some point of this era, she recurrently turned down his advances for physical closeness. Along with her family undergoing financial strain, she needed to maneuver to a neighbouring town for a job. He followed her there, helped her commute to work, and finally coerced her right into a sexual relationship, which sooner or later resulted in her pregnancy.

The accused promised to marry the victim and held a “farce marriage” ceremony in a rented room. Later, the person’s behaviour changed for the woman and turned abusive. He started pressurising her to undergo an abortion, denying paternity. The person accused the victim’ of getting a child with yet another man.

The survivor went to a nearby police station and filed a complaint in May 2019, resulting in the accused’s arrest.

In his defence, the accused claimed the sexual relationship between him and the victim became consensual and she became his wife.

“For my part, this submission can't be accepted for more than one reason. On this case, the prosecution has proved that the victim on the date of commission of the crime became less than 18 years of age,” Justice Sanap said.

The DNA report also confirmed that the accused man and the victim are the biological parents of the child.