When being gang-raped, survivor cannot be expected to resist: Bombay High Court

Source: freepressjournal.in

Mumbai: When a lonely girl is picked up by youngsters with an intention to rape her, she would obviously not offer any resistance and would instead think of saving her life, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court observed while upholding the conviction and punishment of two men, who gang-raped a teenager in February 2012.

A bench of Justices Tanaji Nalawade and Kishor Sonawane made the observation while trashing the argument that the girl had consented for the sexual intercourse.

The judges were dealing with the criminal appeals of Amol Dhakane (29) and Atamaram Munde (30), who challenged their conviction and sentences under the provisions of Indian Penal Code.

According to the case of the prosecution, the survivor, who had been to a Lord Shiva temple with her sister and brother-in-law, had no money to return home. On her way back, she met Dhakane and Munde, who were ferrying passengers in a Jeep at Pune’s Pimpri area.

As per the survivor’s complaint, the duo initially dropped everyone at their destinations and then took her to a secluded place on the outskirts of the city and raped her one by one. They then dropped her at a bus station, where she was found lying on the road by her father.

The family accordingly lodged an FIR against Munde and Dhakane for gang-raping their daughter. The duo was arrested and after a full-fledged trial, they were convicted and given life imprisonment.

Before the HC bench of Justice Nalawade, the duo challenged their conviction and argued that the survivor was an acquaintance to them and had indulged into the sexual act with her consent. To buttress their contention, they even pointed out that there was no injury mark on her person as she did not resist the intercourse.

Trashing their contentions, Justice Nalawade said, “When a lonely girl is picked up with such an intention by two youngsters in the night time, when there is not much traffic on the road, when there is a threat to her life, the girl of such age may not offer resistance and she would like to save her life.”

“The court also cannot expect that such a girl should have taken risk of her life and she ought to have offered the resistance. Due to all these circumstances, this court holds that the circumstance of the absence of injuries on her person and also of the duo has not created reasonable doubt about the case of the prosecution,” Justice Nalawade said.

The bench further noted that the medical evidence adduced by the prosecution corroborated the version of the survivor and accordingly upheld the duo’s conviction.