Man gets 10 years for marrying, sexually assaulting minor girl

Special Judge RJ Pawar, on Wednesday, held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the survivor was below 18 when she left with the accused and when the sexual relationship began

MUMBAI: Holding that a minor’s consent has no legal value, a special POCSO court sentenced a Vikhroli man to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping, marrying and sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl after eloping with her to Hyderabad. The court, however, acquitted him of rape charges for the period after the survivor became an adult, holding that the prosecution failed to prove the relationship remained non-consensual.

Man gets 10 years for marrying, sexually assaulting minor girl

According to the prosecution, Ramesh Babu Mani and the survivor lived in the same locality in Vikhroli and knew each other. On December 15, 2017, when she was about 17 years and six months old, he allegedly took her to Mahbub Nagar in Telangana without her parents’ knowledge on the promise of marriage. The two married at a temple two days later and began living together.

The prosecution alleged that during this period Mani repeatedly forced the survivor to have sexual intercourse and assaulted her while under the influence of alcohol. After he allegedly abandoned her in August 2019, she returned to Mumbai and lodged a complaint with the Vikhroli police.

Special Judge RJ Pawar, on Wednesday, held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the survivor was below 18 when she left with the accused and when the sexual relationship began. Rejecting the defense’s challenge to the authenticity of her birth certificate, the court relied on the municipal birth record, the testimony of the victim and her father, and the investigating officer’s testimony to conclude that she remained a minor until May 15, 2018.

Rejecting the defence argument that there was no medical evidence of rape, the judge observed that the medical examination had taken place more than a year after the alleged offences. The survivor’s testimony, supported by her father, another prosecution witness and the admitted sexual relationship between the couple, was sufficient to establish the offences, the court said.

However, the court acquitted the accused of repeated rape after the victim turned 18. It noted that she continued living with him, worked outside the home, stayed in touch with her parents, informed them of the marriage and did not accuse him of sexual assault until after he deserted her. These circumstances created reasonable doubt about the absence of consent during that period, the court held.

The court also ruled that no separate sentence was required for the rape conviction during the survivor’s minority, as the punishment imposed under the POCSO Act adequately covered the offence.