Court finds man guilty of raping, impregnating minor

A court here has held a man guilty of raping and impregnating a minor girl while rejecting his contention that they were married.

Additional Sessions Judge Rajneesh Kumar Gupta also rejected the arguments of the man, a native of Bihar, that the girl's consent was there in establishing a physical relationship.

The court said the girl's consent was immaterial as she was below 16 years of age and the man's claim that he was married to the girl was also rejected as he already had a wife and children.

"Even for the sake of argument, if it is presumed that the girl had married the accused (man), then also this marriage is not valid as he was already having a wife and three children, which is evident from the victim's testimony," the court said.

On Dec 23, 2011, the girl's father lodged a missing report about her as she was untraceable since Dec 8. He told police that he suspected the man might have enticed her before kidnapping her.

The girl was found Feb 3, 2012 from Samastipur in Bihar and, after medical examination, was found to be pregnant. The man was arrested 10 days later.