Marrying minor victim does not sanctify offence of rape: Delhi High Court

The court was hearing the bail petition of a man accused of kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old girl, who he claimed to have subsequently married in a temple

Merely because sexual abuse resulted in marriage between the victim and the accused or in the birth of a child, it does not mitigate or sanctify the offence of rape, the Delhi High Court has said.

The court was hearing the bail petition of a man accused of kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old girl, who he claimed to have subsequently married in a temple.

Denying bail to the petitioner, Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta said "such incidents of luring a minor and entering into a physical relationship" cannot be treated in a routine manner.

The victim went missing in September 2019 and was eventually recovered from the house of the petitioner in October 2021 along with her 8-month-old daughter. She was also found to be pregnant.

The judge emphasised the consent of a minor is immaterial in rape law and "even the minor girl's infatuation with the alleged kidnapper cannot be permitted as a valid defence" under the Indian Penal Code.

Rape is a crime against the entire society and "leaves little option for the minor child but to toe the line of the accused," the court said.

"Merely because the petitioner has claimed that marriage had been performed with the victim in a temple, the same cannot sanctify the offence as the victim was a minor and under 15 years of age at the time of the incident," the court said in its order dated July 22.