The Bombay High Court at Goa observed on Monday that a girl booking and entering a hotel room with a man does not mean that she has consented to sexual intercourse. Single-judge Justice Bharat Deshpande stated that the order by a trial court in Margao on March 3, 2021, was an error in which the trial court discharged a man from rape charges. The trial court stated that the victim girl 'consented' to the sexual activity that took place inside the room as she was instrumental in booking the room, the Live Law reported.
However, Justice Deshpande emphasised that even if the victim went inside the room with her consent, it cannot be imagined as her consent for sexual intercourse. "Drawing such an inference is clearly against the settled proposition and specifically when the complaint was lodged immediately after the incident. Even if it is accepted that the victim went inside the room along with the accused, the same cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered as her consent for sexual intercourse," Justice Deshpande said in the order.
ALSO READ: ‘Taunting Wife, Making Her Sleep On Carpet, Prohibiting TV Cannot Be Cruelty’: Bombay High Court
Justice Deshpande stated that the trial court mixed two aspects, going inside the room with her consent and giving consent for what happened inside the room. "The action on the part of the victim immediately after coming out of the room and that too, crying, calling the police, and lodging a complaint on that day itself show that the overt act allegedly carried out in the room by the accused was not consensual," the judge stated.
Gulsher Ahmed, the accused, promised the victim a private job abroad and took her to a hotel in Margo on March 3, 2020, allegedly to meet an agent for the job purpose. The victim and the accused, both together, booked the room in the hotel. However, the accused allegedly threatened to kill her and raped her as soon as they entered the room.
The incident took place on March 3, 2020, when the accused promised the victim a private job abroad. He took the victim to a hotel in Margao allegedly on the pretext of meeting an agent for the said purpose. When he went into the bathroom, she left the room and called the police, leading to his immediate arrest.