HC refuses to quash FIR in rape case

In an unusual case, the Bombay High Court Thursday refused to quash an FIR for rape even though the 'victim' stated she had a consensual relationship with the accused.

The accused, currently 19 years old, is in judicial custody. He had moved the court seeking to quash the First Information Report.

A bench of justices B P Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite-Dere, however, noted that the accused was not yet of legally marriageable age.

The FIR can be quashed only after the accused turns 21, the judges said, posting the matter for final hearing.

The accused's lawyer pointed out that the woman, in her statement to the magistrate, had said that their relationship was consensual and hence there was no offence made out even prima facie.

To which the bench said, "We still can not quash the FIR. We can keep the matter pending, post it for final hearing and hear the arguments on merit then."