In a recent judgment, the Delhi High Court emphasized that mere friendship between a boy and a girl does not provide any legal liberty to engage in sexual intercourse without the girl's consent. This observation came while the Court denied bail to an accused in a serious case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Justice Girish Kathpalia, while passing the order, firmly stated:
“…merely because a girl befriends a boy, the latter cannot be given liberty to indulge into sexual intercourse with her without her consent.”
Read also:- Property Disputes Beyond Scope of Senior Citizen Tribunals: Allahabad HC Reinforces Civil Court Jurisdiction
The case involved a construction labourer, Mohammad Shahid alias Sahid, who was accused of repeatedly raping a minor girl under the pretext of friendship. According to the prosecution, the alleged acts continued until November 2023. The accused had argued that the relationship was consensual and that the girl was of legal age at the time of the alleged incidents.
However, the Court rejected these claims, stressing that the minor’s age disqualified any possibility of lawful consent. It also noted that evidence presented in the form of educational records clearly proved that the girl was a minor during the period in question.
Read also:- Courts Overburdened: Delhi HC Asks Gokhale and Puri to Resolve Defamation Case Outside Court
The accused’s argument relied on selective interpretation of a statement made by the minor’s mother. But the Court made it clear that:
“A single handpicked line from the testimony of the prosecutrix's mother cannot be read in isolation of the remaining material on record.”
The Court also pointed out that it was not permissible to conduct a detailed analysis of evidence at the stage of considering bail. Furthermore, it observed that even if the minor had voluntarily interacted with the accused or responded positively to his gestures, such actions cannot be interpreted as consent under the law.
Read also:- Bombay High Court Slaps ₹30 Lakh Costs on Litigants, Lawyers in Slum Redevelopment Case
The Court underlined that:
“I am unable to find it a case of consensual relations merely because in the FIR the prosecutrix stated that the accused/applicant with his sweet talk befriended her.”
Given the seriousness of the allegations and the age of the victim, the Court refused to grant bail to the accused.