Recently, the Delhi High Court upheld the acquittal of a Muslim man accused of raping a 15-year-old girl, noting that the girl, who was also a Muslim, was his wife and that he had sexual relations with her only after they were married. Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna ruled that the accused’s relationship with the victim cannot be considered rape.
According to Muslim personal law, a Muslim girl over the age of 15 is competent to enter into a marriage contract with the person of her choosing, and having sexual relations with such a girl is not illegal.
“We find that the physical relationship between the respondent [accused man] and the victim cannot be termed rape because the minor victim was the respondent’s nearly fifteen-year-old wife. “The defendant was properly acquitted,” the High Court stated.
In addition, the court concurred with the Additional Sessions Judge’s (ASJ) conclusion that no violation of Section 6 read with Section 5(1) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) was established based on the child’s testimony that she got married to the respondent in December 2014, and only after that did they have a physical relationship.
The Court heard an appeal submitted by the State against a judgement of acquittal dated November 15, 2016, in which the accused man was found not guilty of the offence punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Based on a complaint by the child’s mother, the Delhi Police filed a first information report (FIR) alleging that between October and November 2014, the respondent (the victim’s sister’s husband) visited the child’s home four or five times and committed rape.
The medical exam disclosed that the female patient was pregnant.
As the case was brought before the trial court, the victim stated that the defendant was the spouse of her older sister and that in December 2014, she, her mother, the defendant, and his wife had travelled to their native place in Bihar to attend the wedding of their cousin sister. After attending the wedding ceremony, she wedded the defendant.
However, her parents were unaware of her marriage to the accused.
She subsequently returned to Delhi with her mother, respondent-husband, and sister. In addition, she disclosed that the respondent had subsequent physical relations with her on multiple occasions.
After reviewing the case’s facts, the Court determined that there was no reason to grant permission to appeal. The application was consequently denied.
Manjeet Arya, an assistant public prosecutor, represented the State.
The Supreme Court is currently weighing the legality of allowing Muslim females under the age of 18 to enter a valid marriage.
On June 13, 2022, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that, according to Muslim personal law, a Muslim girl over the age of 15 may enter into a marriage contract with the individual of her choosing.
The Delhi High Court also ruled that under Muslim law, a minor female who has reached puberty may marry without her parent’s permission and has the right to live with her husband. In these instances, where physical contact occurs only after marriage, the POCSO Act does not apply.
The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) then submitted an appeal against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s ruling, arguing that allowing such marriages would violate the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which stipulates that the age of consent for sexual activity is 18.
The matter is presently before the highest court.
The order is linked below for your understanding.