Mumbai: 46-year-old man acquitted of rape charges in 30-year-old case
What's the story
We all know that justice delayed is justice denied. Though justice has been delayed terribly in this rape case, it has finally been delivered 30 years later. A 46-year-old man has been acquitted in the rape case after a court found out that the 16-year-old him had consensual sex with a then 17-year-old woman. A sessions court exonerated him in the 30-year-old rape case.
Details
Not a rape; consensual sex excluded from rape definition: Court
The court said under IPC Section 376 (rape), consensual sex with a girl above 16 was excluded from the definition of rape in its applicability in 1988. "By no stretch of imagination can it be said that the accused of age 16 years enticed the girl of age 17 years from the legal custody of her parents and committed rape on her," it said.
The incident
What happened on that fateful day?
The complaint was lodged by the then 17-year-old girl's father. Her parents used to go to work and on January 23, 1988, when her father got home, he allegedly found no one and started looking for his daughter. He learned about the "relationship" between the accused and his daughter and figured that the accused, who was also their neighbor earlier, might have enticed her.
The case
What exactly was the case?
On January 30, 1988, the father told the cops that while looking for his daughter, he went to the boy's Andheri residence and found her there. The woman, however, told police that on January 23, 1988, she "went" with the accused at 7 pm. He then "sweetly" talked and took her to his native place in Gujarat. She said they then had consensual sex.
Information
Man booked under charges of rape and kidnapping
The man, who has since moved to Gujarat, had to come to Mumbai to face legal proceedings. He was booked under charges of rape, kidnapping, and kidnapping with the intention to compel a woman to marry or have sexual relations, which he's been cleared of.