Social Resistance To Consensual Inter-Faith Relationship Led Prosecutrix To Shift Blame On Accused: Delhi High Court Acquits Man In Rape Case

The Delhi High Court recently acquitted a man convicted for kidnapping and rape in a 2004 case, observing that the prosecutrix had voluntarily accompanied him, married him under the Special Marriage Act and later appeared to have changed her stand due to “social and family pressure”.Justice Vimal Kumar Yadav said that fragmented, stratified and deeply divided Indian society across all the classes left no room practically for the young lovers to choose their partners.“If the prescribed barriers are to be breach then, the consequences have been so severe that they have had to pay with their lives at times. In such a deeply divided society, which has not only divided the lives, religion, caste, region or language but even inter-se divisions have been found within a particular social group,” the Court said. Narrating the facts, the judge added: “… an inter-religious alliance was no less than a sin against such a scenario, where an inter-religious alliance was met with the obvious resistance so much so that one of the partners, that is the prosecutrix herein, who had taken an initial stand of aligning with the Appellant in every aspect from voluntarily accompanying him, to marrying him, having the marriage registered and living with him for about two months, turned tables and shifted the entire blame on the Appellant when she came to depose before the Court, contrary to what she has stated in her statement under Section 161 and 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (Cr.P.C.).”Justice Yadav was dealing with an appeal filed by one Mohd. Quasim against his conviction for the offences under Sections 363, 366 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code in a case registered in 2004 on a complaint made by the prosecutrix's father. It was alleged that the accused had enticed away the prosecutrix, who was allegedly a minor, and subjected her to rape during the period they stayed together in West Bengal.However, the High Court noted that the prosecutrix had initially supported the accused in her statements under Sections 161 and 164 of CrPC and had voluntarily travelled with him from Delhi to West Bengal, married him and lived with him for nearly two months. The Court further noted that the couple travelled over 1500 kilometres using public transport and the prosecutrix had several opportunities to raise alarm if she was being forcibly taken away.“It is nearly impossible to believe that the prosecutrix did not have even a single opportunity to raise alarm and attract the attention of the public police or the Government officials,” the Court observed. Justice Yadav also observed that the prosecutrix's silence during the journey indicated that she had accompanied the accused voluntarily. The Court also relied upon letters allegedly written by the prosecutrix to the accused and the marriage certificate issued under the Special Marriage Act. So far as the age of the prosecutrix, the Court said that with the margin of error, it can be taken as 18 years i.e. the age when a female can marry and can also have consensual relationship with anyone of her choice. Accordingly, the High Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the appellant of all charges.Title: MOHD. QUASIM v. STATE (NCT OF DELHI)Click here to read order

Social Resistance To Consensual Inter-Faith Relationship Led Prosecutrix To Shift Blame On Accused: Delhi High Court Acquits Man In Rape Case

Nupur Thapliyal

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Social Resistance To Consensual Inter-Faith Relationship Led Prosecutrix To Shift Blame On Accused: Delhi High Court Acquits Man In Rape Case

Nupur Thapliyal

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