The Bombay High Court has rejected the appeal of a man convicted of raping a 15-year-old minor girl attempting to question her character. The Court has dismissed the appeal of the accused and issued an order directing the arrest of the accused to complete his sentence. This decision was given in the case of Ramkrishna Ganesh Wagh v. State of Maharashtra.
The Session Court had convicted the accused, of raping a minor girl. The order passed by the Session Court was then challenged by the accused in the Bombay High Court.
During the proceedings of the appeal, the accused produced a woman witness in the Court who claimed that the girl was involved in an illegitimate relationship with the witness’s husband. However, the woman later changed her statement.
High Court agreed with the view taken by the Sessions Court and held that even if the witness was speaking the truth, her statement would not be of any help to decide the case. Further, the Court has said that the fact that she changed her statement shows that the accused intentionally produced her in the Court to lie about the character of the minor girl.
The Court stated that the accused does not have a right to rape or have sexual intercourse with the girl, even if she was assumed to be of loose character. The Court also referred to the law on rape which clearly states that the consent of the victim is immaterial in rape cases involving girls of less than 16 years of age. Since, in the present case, the girl was of 15 years at the time of the incidence; her consent to the said act was immaterial even if it can be proved that the intercourse was not forceful.