A youth accused of kidnapping and raping a minor, with whom he got married, has been acquitted by a Delhi court on the ground that the girl had accompanied him willingly.
The court said though the girl was less than 16 years of age when she maintained physical relations with the youth, she engaged in sexual relations after marrying him which is not an offence under the law.
It also noted that consent of a girl below 16 years of age for engaging in physical relations is "immaterial".
"However, it is to be noted that the sexual intercourse between the two (accused and girl) took place after their marriage.
"In other words, the prosecutrix has become the wife of the accused when she participated in sexual intercourse with him and as per the provisions of Section 376(rape) of the IPC, sexual intercourse with one's wife when she is more than 12 years of age is no offence," Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat said.
The court acquitted 21-year-old Kapashera resident of the charges of rape and kidnapping with an intention to force the girl for marriage, saying there is no inculpatory evidence against him.
According to police, the girl had gone missing from her house on the night of August 3 last year and her mother had lodged a missing complaint at a police station next morning.
The girl's mother had told the police that when she woke up in the morning on August 4, 2012, she could not find her daughter and noticed that the minor had taken some clothes with her.
She said that a boy, who was their neighbour, was also missing and he must have taken her daughter. After few days, the youth brought the girl to a police station.
During her deposition in the court, the girl said her parents had lodged a false complaint against the youth as they were against their marriage.
The court also said that the girl has been consistently saying that she had eloped with the accused voluntarily and had willingly married him in a temple at Ambala.
It said none of her statements before the court indicate that the youth had offered her any kind of allurement or had forced her to accompany him.
