Consensual physical relationship with minor girl not excusable offence: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court upheld a life sentence for a man who had a consensual physical relationship with a 14-year-old minor, ruling it inexcusable. The court also directed compensation totaling Rs 3.8 lakh to the victim

Kolkata: A division bench of the Calcutta High Court has observed that even a consensual physical relationship with a minor girl cannot be considered an excusable offence. The bench, comprising Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta, made this observation while pronouncing a verdict in a case where it upheld an earlier order by a lower court that sentenced the accused to life imprisonment.

The Calcutta High Court’s order, affirming the lower court’s decision, was pronounced on Wednesday, and a copy of the verdict was uploaded on Thursday morning. The case had been originally heard in a lower court, where the accused was charged under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

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The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment. He later challenged the sentence before the division bench of the high court. It was revealed that the accused had a romantic relationship with a minor in 2014 and engaged in physical relations with her in November 2016, when she was only 14 years old. Despite the minor’s reservations and with the promise of marriage, the accused continued the relationship.

The matter came to light after the victim became pregnant in 2017. Both the accused and his family refused to take responsibility for the minor and her unborn child. Subsequently, an FIR was filed against the accused at the Narkeldanga police station in north Kolkata. The court noted that the possibility that the accused was the father of the child could not be ruled out. Multiple scientific pieces of evidence, including the victim’s statement and DNA reports, confirmed that the accused had physical relations with the victim multiple times.

The court also referenced a Supreme Court verdict, noting that if the minor’s statement is credible, no other evidence is necessary in such cases. The accused’s lawyer argued that the victim’s age was not clearly established. However, the court pointed out that the minor’s birth certificate had been submitted as proof, and the accused had not raised any objections regarding her age during the trial.

Regarding the delay in filing the FIR, the court observed that the minor initially trusted the promise of marriage and only informed her parents after discovering her pregnancy. After hearing arguments from both sides, the high court upheld the lower court’s judgment.

The Calcutta High Court also directed the State Legal Service Authority to pay Rs 1,80,000 within 15 days and ordered the accused to pay an additional Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the victim. If the accused is out on bail, he has been ordered to surrender immediately and serve the life sentence.