MP High Court quashes rape case, says girl at 17 or 18 capable of making own decisions
The petitioner and the prosecutrix had developed friendship online and later started talking over telephone and even met in person.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has quashed a rape case on the petitioner, 30 years old after the prosecutrix, a minor alleged that the man had sexually assaulted her and forced her to have intercourse. According to the prosecution, the man and the girl had met on Facebook and developed a friendship. After which they started talking over the phone.
In December 2020, the petitioner had met the girl and took her to a hotel where he allegedly sexually assaulted her and forced her to have intercourse. The man was also accused of threatening to put her obscene photos online and making a false promise to marry her by saying that he was unmarried. However, in 2022, the man claimed that he could not marry her because he was already married. An FIR was subsequently registered on the basis of the girl’s complaint.
In his order, passed on July 12, Justice Deepak Kumar Agarwal observed, “As per the prosecution story, she is minor. This court, looking into the physical and mental development of an adolescent of that age group, would consider it logical that such a person is capable of making conscious decision as regard his or her well-being. Prima facie, it appears that there is no mens rea [intention] involved.”
The petitioner’s counsel had argued that the FIR was filed after one year and that it is a false FIR. He also claimed that any intercourse, if any that took place was consensual. Opposing this argument, the prosecution said that since the case was that of a minor, it cannot be quashed.
Rejecting the prosecution’s arguments, the court said, “Be that as it may, at this juncture this court is of the opinion that the proceeding of the case before the trial court would serve no purpose in the peculiar facts and circumstances. On due consideration being given to the submission of the parties, the prayer of the petitioner is hereby allowed.”
This adds fuel to the existing debate about whether the age of consent for girls should be brought down to 16 which is the same for the boys and also raises questions about the authenticity of cases of ‘statutory rape’ where even if the intercourse was consensual, parents of such a girl file false cases against the boy so that their image in the society is not tarnished.
