Sexual relationship between a 39-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl cannot be called ‘consensual’, the special court for the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act said while convicting a man for impregnating a teenager and sentencing him to 10 years in jail.
Details of case
As per the case registered with the Charkop police, the girl’s family had moved to the city in 2017. On July 12, 2019, the girl’s mother was at work in the afternoon when her elder daughter called her and said her sibling had abdominal pain. The girl was taken to the hospital, where doctors said she was seven months pregnant and was about to deliver. The girl delivered a boy but refused to name the father.
It was later revealed that the father of the child was their neighbour. The family claimed that since their house was small and there were many members, the girl and her paternal uncle slept at the neighbour’s house when the crime was perpetrated. The girl kept quiet out of fear, the family said.
Rape or love?
The accused in his defence claimed that the girl admitted in her testimony that she loved him and they had a consensual relationship. He quoted her, saying that she has attained maturity and can make her own decisions. She threatened to commit suicide in case he did not accept her love affair. She admitted that the man was not ready initially but their physical relation was with her consent.
The court, however, said that the accused should have brought her threat to die by suicide and demand for a physical relationship to the notice of her parents. On the contrary, he established physical relations two to three times.
While rejecting his defence of a ‘consensual’ relationship, the court said, “The man is over double the age of the victim. Under such circumstances it cannot be said that she was having a love affair with him. This is not a case of a love affair.” It further said that even if it is consensual, the consent is immaterial. “The victim is child… incapable of giving her consent. Therefore, this is a case of statutory rape…”
