Bombay High Court declares sexual intercourse with minor wife as rape, upholds 10-year sentence

In a landmark ruling, the Bombay High Court has declared that sexual intercourse between a man and his wife, if she is under the age of 18, constitutes rape, even if the act is consensual. The Nagpur bench of the court upheld a 10-year imprisonment sentence awarded to a man by a trial court in Wardha district for his involvement in such an act.

Justice GA Sanap, in his November 12 order, emphasized that regardless of whether the sexual act was consensual, intercourse with a girl under 18 is classified as rape. The court clarified that the defense of consensual sex is not valid if the wife is a minor. "Sexual intercourse with a girl below 18 years of age is rape regardless of whether she is married or not," the court stated.

The ruling was made in the context of an appeal filed by a man who challenged his conviction on charges of rape and violations of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The man had been convicted in 2021 for engaging in sexual relations with a minor girl, who was 31 weeks pregnant at the time of filing the complaint in 2019.

The minor girl claimed that she had been in a romantic relationship with the accused for several years and had been coerced into sex by him, despite her initial reluctance. After becoming pregnant, the man arranged a symbolic marriage ceremony, which lacked legal validity. He allegedly pressured her to have an abortion, further manipulating her emotionally.

The court referred to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which provides an exception for marital rape only if the wife is below the age of 15, but not for those under 18. This ruling reinforces the legal framework safeguarding minors from sexual exploitation, regardless of marital status.