Kerala high court stated in absolving a rape offender that a vague statement of an alleged victim of sexual assault without any evidence of intercourse would not comprise the offense of rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Justice Kausar Edapaggath’s single-judge bench pointed out the fact on Wednesday. While considering a petition of a man found guilty of rape by a lower court. Premised on a woman’s assertion that the “accused embraced and pregnant” her. According to Bar and Bench, the court decided that a vague remark would not suffice as a replacement for the legislative mandate stated in the IPC section.
The case was filed in 2009. And the defendant was found guilty by a lower court based on the victim’s and her mother’s evidence. The prosecution claims that the accused had a physical relationship with the woman. Later pregnant her under the guise of a bogus marriage commitment.
The petitioner did not advocate forcible intercourse, according to the defense lawyers. Both parties withdrew from the wedding proposal after the defendant failed to return a gold necklace taken from the victim for committing.
The court determined that there was no indication of contact or that the victim delivered the baby in the victim’s declaration, as claimed in the petition. The court pointed out that if a man backs out of a vow to marry the woman. The plaintiff must prove that the accused had no intention of marrying the victim from the start to be charged with rape.
“Proof of intercourse is required, and only the victim can provide this information. However, such a truth is not disclosed after reading her remark. She hasn’t mentioned anything about penile penetration or a similar effort. The only thing she said was that the accused embraced her and pregnant her,” the court ruled. According to the court, the documents, statements, and surrounding circumstances do not even indicate that it was non-consensual.