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Observing that “child marriages are dangerous to the social fabric of the country and have to be stopped”, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court dismissed the anticipatory bail plea filed by a man accused of raping his wife, who was then was a minor. incident.
The court said that the man cannot run away saying that since he was married to a minor and did not protest, the intercourse was voluntary and was done with his consent.
Justice Vibha V Kankanwadi passed the order on April 12 while hearing a petition filed by an Ahmednagar man who was booked under IPC sections 376 (rape), Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act. Was. ,
Advocate Rahul R Karpe, appearing for the accused, submitted that while the wife neither opposed the marriage nor disclosed her age in December 2020, her client was given the impression by her relatives that she was an adult.
The accused said that the wife was not ill-treated and he had to bear the cost of her treatment after she became pregnant. He further said that after getting to know with him COVID-19She was admitted to a hospital in Pune by her in-laws and later gave birth to a boy on December 23 last year. The HC was told that the hospital and the police were told that she was 17 years old.
Karpe argued that it could not be said that intercourse between the couple was against the will of the wife, as they had a good relationship. Saying that custodial interrogation of the man was unnecessary, Karpe demanded that his client be saved from arrest.
However, advocate AM Phule, appearing for the police, opposed the plea. The counsel said that “consent of a minor is not consent at all and if loopholes are allowed to be rectified, it will help those who commit crimes and seek protection of law”.
Referring to news reports on the rise in child marriages during the pandemic, he argued that “the social problem cannot be tackled unless there is rigor of law and social awareness”.
The court noted that the counsel for the wife, who was initially skeptical about her stand, submitted that she had no objection to the man’s pre-arrest bail plea.
The judge said, “… no person can be allowed to take advantage of any such situation. At the time of settlement of the marriage, certain inquiries are required to be made and it is the behavior of the girl or her parents.” Not limited to the financial status of the person, but other things also need to be considered, especially age.
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