The court granted bail to the accused of raping his girlfriend, made this important comment

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a man accused of raping a minor girlfriend. While ordering the bail, the court noted that even though the girl was a minor at the time of the incident, she was capable of understanding the consequences of her actions. The single bench of Justice Bharti Dangre, in its order passed on November 15, also noted that the victim had voluntarily accompanied the accused to her maternal aunt's place. where the alleged offense took place. Please tell me that this incident happened last year and at that time the age of the girlfriend was 15 years.

court's comment
The court said that from the hearing conducted so far, it appears that the victim, though a minor, was capable of understanding the consequences of her act and had voluntarily accompanied the accused to her maternal aunt's house. However, she is a minor and her consent becomes irrelevant in such a case. The court further noted that she voluntarily joined the applicant at her aunt's house. She admitted that she was in love with the applicant, whether he had consented to sexual intercourse or not. It is a matter of evidence. The court further said whether the victim girl resisted the sexual act or not and at what point the accused forcibly had sex with her against her will, shall be determined at the time of trial.

The court said that the applicant (accused) is also a young boy and the possibility of his disillusionment cannot be ruled out. In such a situation, there is no need to keep him in further imprisonment as he was arrested in April 2021 and the disposal of this case may take a long time. The bench, while granting bail to the accused, directed him not to have any contact with the victim and also not to go near her house in suburban Mumbai.

what is the matter
Significantly, on April 29, 2021, a case was registered by the victim against the accused under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO). She had said in the complaint that the accused had raped her on April 6, 2021, when she had gone with him to her aunt's house in a suburb of Mumbai. The victim girl said she told her sister about the incident on April 29 after her family caught her chatting on WhatsApp.

Regarding the delay in filing the complaint, the court noted that 'the victim remained silent until her WhatsApp chats with the applicant were objected to by her family members. She remained silent since April 6 and disclosed the incident only after an objection was taken by her family.