Consensual sex with major not an offence, but immoral and against norms: HC

The Allahabad High Court on Saturday denied bail to a person accused of raping his girlfriend, along with three others, noting that he (the boyfriend of the victim) remained a mute spectator when the other co-accused were sexually assaulting the girl.

The bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi observed that consensual sex with a major is not an “offence” but is “unethical, immoral, and against established Indian norms”.

Dismissing the bail plea, the judge said that it was the duty of the man, claiming to be the boyfriend, to protect her when she was being sexually assaulted by the other co-accused.

“The moment the applicant submits that the victim is his beloved, it becomes his binding duty to protect the dignity, honour and reputation of his girlfriend. If a girl is a major, then having sex with her consent is not an offence, but certainly it is unethical and immoral, and also not in consonance with the established social norms of the Indian society,” he said, according to an IANS report.

The court called the act of the applicant “highly deplorable and unbecoming of a boyfriend”.

According to the FIR, the 15-year-old victim, a resident of Kaushambhi district in Uttar Pradesh, had on February 19 gone for stitching lessons at an institute and spoken to her boyfriend Raju and they both planned to meet. Later, they met at a secluded place near a river, and the accused insisted on having sex with the victim. It was then that the three other persons came, abused and beat the applicant, and committed the crime.

On February 20, the FIR was lodged by the victim against four accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including rape, assault, and criminal intimidation, and Sections 5 and 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 at Akil Sarai police station of Kaushambhi.

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