Kalyan court gives 10-year jail term to man for raping minor after forced conversion

Kalyan: A Kalyan sessions court has sentenced a man to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for raping a 15-year-old minor girl after forced religious conversion in 2011. Additional sessions judge P P Muley convicted then man, then 25, under rape charges of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000, with an additional month of simple imprisonment in default of payment. The court, however, acquitted him of kidnapping charges. ​According to the prosecution, the accused took the victim to Lucknow in Dec 2011 using deceitful tactics, including booking a room under a fake name. The court observed that upon reaching Lucknow, he contacted a religious leader and took the minor to a mosque, where she was made to sign papers written in Urdu. Emphasising her minor status, the judge ruled that her participation in the conversion rites could not be deemed voluntary and constituted forceful conversion. ​The court noted that immediately following the conversion rites, the man established physical relations with the victim, disregarding her tender age. The assault took a severe toll on the minor's physical health, leaving her ill and unconscious for four days, it said. While the defence pointed out that the man had arranged for her medical treatment, the court dismissed this as a mitigating factor, observing that providing medical aid could not justify his ill intentions or establish bona fide conduct, characterising the episode as a predetermined plot aimed solely at exploiting the victim. The defence produced 'love letters' and call records to argue that the victim was in a relationship with the accused and had accompanied him willingly. The court observed that even if the minor was "blind in love", she had no legal capacity to extend consent. The court also noted that the man, who was originally a friend of the victim's late sister, continued pursuing the minor despite warnings from both her father and police. ​Relying on Supreme Court's landmark ruling in 2017 in the Independent Thought case, judge Muley held that sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 18 amounts to rape under Section 376 of IPC even if marriage rites were performed or the victim is shown as a wife. Holding that the accused could not claim protection under exception 2 to Section 375 of IPC, the court sentenced him to a decade behind bars. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Mumbai | Silver Rate in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai | Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Petrol Price in Mumbai | Diesel Price in Mumbai | CNG Price in Mumbai | LPG Price in Mumbai Stay updated with the latest Mumbai news. Download the TOI App.