Live-in influenced by western ideas; FIRs lodged when relationships fail: Allahabad High Court

Prayagraj: The increased tendency among the youth to opt for live-in is influenced by "western ideas", said the Allahabad High Court as it set aside the life imprisonment awarded to a man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl after it was found that she was an adult who entered into a consensual relationship.

The court said that when such relationships fail, first information reports (FIRs) alleging rape are frequently lodged.

A division bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Prashant Mishra passed the order while allowing a criminal appeal filed by one Chandresh. Since existing laws are in favour of women, men are convicted by relying on the laws that were made when the concept of live-in relationships was nowhere in existence, the bench said.

According to the prosecution, the appellant enticed away the informant's minor daughter on the pretext of marriage, took her to Bangalore and established a physical relationship.

The trial court had subsequently convicted the man under sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (abduction for marriage), and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC, Section 6 of the POCSO Act (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and Section 3(2)(V) of the SC/ST Act. Challenging the conviction, the appellant approached the High Court.

However, upon reviewing the records, the High Court found that the victim was a major at the time of the incident. The court noted that the trial court had not properly considered the Ossification Test Report, which proved her age to be about 20 years.

The bench also pointed out discrepancies in the mother's testimony. While the FIR stated the girl's age as 18-and-a-half years, the mother later claimed she was 17 during her court statement, a shift the bench suggested occurred on "legal advice".

The court pointed out that the victim travelled with the appellant via public transport, including a government bus and a train, to Gorakhpur and then to Bangalore without raising an alarm. "She lived with the appellant in a locality full of other houses in Bangalore for six months and had a consenting physical relationship with him," the court observed, noting she only contacted her family after the appellant dropped her back at Shikarpur Crossing on August 6, 2021.

The HC held that the conviction for kidnapping and abduction was "absolutely unwarranted" as the victim was an adult who eloped of her own free will.

Regarding the rape charges and POCSO Act convictions, the court said the victim was major in a consensual relation, the trial court's judgment is unjustified.

The conviction under section-376 of I.P.C., is also not proper because the victim was major and had consenting relationship with appellant for six years. In its judgment on January 8, the High Court concluded that the trial court had not properly considered the evidence on record. The court therefore set aside the conviction and allowed the appeal.