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HC grants bail in rape case over age evidence doubts
2 Dec
Summary
- Bombay HC suspended a 15-year rape sentence for a 28-year-old man.
- The court cited doubts in the survivor's age evidence for its decision.
- The ruling noted inconsistencies regarding the survivor's date of birth.
The Bombay High Court recently suspended a Pune sessions court's conviction of a 28-year-old man, who had been sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment. The original judgement from March 23, 2022, found him guilty of repeatedly raping a 17-year-old girl over a five-month period before August 14, 2018. The man has been granted bail by the HC bench, which noted prima facie substance in the defense's argument regarding inconsistencies in the survivor's age evidence.
The court highlighted that the survivor's cross-examination indicated she was a consenting party to the sexual relations, characterizing the situation as a "love affair." Given that the convict's appeal is unlikely to be heard soon, the sentence was suspended, and bail was granted. The convict had already spent over three years in prison since his conviction and sentencing.
