‘Minor’s consent is no consent in eyes of law’

A THANE COURT THAT HAS SENTENCED A MAN TO 7 YEARS IN JAIL FOR RAPING A MINOR IN 2015, SAID SEX BETWEEN THEM PRIOR TO ASSAULT ALSO AMOUNTED TO RAPE

THANE: A district court sentenced a 31-year-old man to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl in 2015. When it came to light that the girl had consensual sex with him prior to the assault, the court observed that a minor’s consent is “no consent in the eyes of law”.

The accused, Devendra Gupta, has also been sentenced to an additional year in jail for house trespassing.

According to the prosecution, in October 2015, Gupta sneaked into the house of the girl, then 16 and studying in Class 11, who was alone at home in Kajuwadi, cooking food. Gupta was accused of latching the door, gagging the teen and raping her.

When the minor’s mother returned home and knocked on the door, Gupta tried to hide. As the girl opened the door and narrated her ordeal to her mother, their neighbours tried to catch hold of Gupta but he escaped. A complaint against him was registered at the Vartak Nagar police station.

District judge PP Jadhav, who observed that the accused had sexual relations with the minor girl even before the assault, observed that “under such circumstances, considering the age of the victim, her consent is no consent in the eyes of law.”

Gupta was found guilty of rape, house trespass, and under relevant sections of the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court also imposed a fine of ₹15,000 on him.