Bombay High Court ruled consensual sexual intercourse with underage partner as ‘rape’

Bombay Nagpur High Court recently ruled that a man can be charged with rape even if he has consensual sexual intercourse with his wife who is under 18 years of age.

Respectively, Single Judge Justice Govind Sanap The judge stated: “According to the law established by the Apical Court, the appellant having sexual intercourse with a person who is the spouse of the victim will not constitute rape or penetrative sexual assault and is unacceptable. “It should be noted that sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 18, whether married or not, is rape.” LiveLaw.

The single-judge judge rejected the man’s argument that the victim’s sexual intercourse with him was voluntary and could not be considered rape because she was his wife at the time.

according to Live Law report, the judge was listening Appeal filed by the man challenging the Wardha district court’s order dated September 9, 2021. At that time, the trial court had convicted him for rape and under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.

In another incident on November 14, Delhi court convicted A 28-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping an eight-year-old girl in 2016. Additional Sessions Judge Babita Puniya was hearing arguments regarding the sentence passed against the man who was convicted under Section 376 (2) (Rape of a girl under 16 years of age) of the IPC.

Special Public Prosecutor Sharawan Kumar Bishnoi demanded maximum punishment for this heinous act. In its decision in November, the court said, “Child rape is disgusting. Children are the most valuable asset of a society. It is the duty of society not only to protect them from sexual violence and harassment, but also to make them happy.” he said. 11.