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Consensual sex with major not an offence but unethical: Allahabad HC
Justice Rahul Chaturvedi said that it was duty of the man, claiming to be the boyfriend of a minor girl, to protect his girlfriend when she was being sexually harassed by the other co-accused.
The Allahabad high court on Friday, while rejecting the bail plea of a gang rape accused, said that having consensual sex with a major is not an offence but “unethical, immoral and against established Indian norms”.
Justice Rahul Chaturvedi while dismissing the bail plea one of the four accused in the case, said that it was duty of the man, claiming to be the boyfriend of a minor girl, to protect his girlfriend when she was being sexually harassed by the other co-accused.
“The moment the applicant submits that the victim is his beloved, it was his binding duty to protect the dignity, honour and reputation of his girlfriend. If a girl is major one, then to have 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,”observed the court.
The court termed the applicant’s act as highly deplorable and unbecoming of a boyfriend, stating that “he remained silent spectator when the co-accused persons were brutally sexually assassinating his beloved in front of him”.
As per FIR, the victim, on February 19 this year, went to take stitching lessons at a stitching centre and had spoken to her boyfriend Raju over phone and planned to meet him. Later they meet at a secluded place near a local river. After some time, three other persons reached there, abused and beat the applicant and committed the crime.
On February 20, an FIR lodged by the 15-year-old victim against four accused under sections 376-D, 392, 323, 504, and 506 of the IPC and Sections 5 and 6 of POCSO Act at Akil Sarai police station of Kaushambi district.
After examining the material placed on record and the contents of the FIR, the court denied bail to the applicant, stating that it cannot be said with certainty that the applicant had got no association or connection with remaining co-accused persons.
