MP HC acquits man accused of raping minor & now married to her

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh high court has acquitted a man accused of raping a minor after she appeared in court, cradling their infant child, and pleaded with the judge to close the judge, saying that she had eloped with him and married of her own will.

The girl was around 16 years old when she eloped in 2021 and turned 18 this August. Her husband was 21 then, and spent two months in jail before getting bail.

Justice Anand Pathak, who presided over the case, highlighted the complexity of such matters. While acknowledging the potential for punishment in such instances, Justice Pathak stressed the need for judges to analyze cases with sensitivity.

"It is regular and easy to be retributive but at the same time a judge has to sublimely feel the pulse of the case. One cannot forget that 'file' and 'life' contain the same alphabets. Here, the 'file' before this court carries not only a 'life' but many lives. Therefore this court intends to tread the reformative or at least other than retributive one," Justice Pathak's order says.

The judge noted that the accused doesn't have a criminal record and is living peacefully with his wife and child.

Sending him to jail would disrupt their peaceful life, Justice Pathak said, and chose to acquit him, ending his order with the words: "This court intends to inject 'life' into 'file' in the interest of justice."

'Court intends to inject life into file'
Sending him to jail would disrupt their peaceful life, Justice Pathak said, and chose to acquit him, ending his order with the words: "This court intends to inject 'life' into 'file' in the interest of justice."

The couple had eloped on June 26, 2021, and married on September 7 that year. She was found on April 4, 2022, and sent to a Nari Niketan in another district while the man was remanded in jail.

She gave birth to a child in May 2022. After the girl turned 18, the husband filed a habeas corpus petition, leading to her release on a high court order on October 26, 2023. The couple started living together.

The husband then moved the Gwalior HC bench to quash the case against him. During the trial, the girl came to court with her baby and said that she had willingly eloped with him and married him. They were living happily together with their child and she didn't want to go back to her parents, she said.

In his order, Justice Pathak noted that it was a consensual relationship and they are living as a married couple. After thorough consideration of all aspects, the high court decided to quash the FIR and the trial associated with the case. TNN