PRAYAGRAJ: Observing that western ideas influence youth to get into live-in relationships and rape FIRs are lodged when such relations fail, the Allahabad high court has overturned a life sentence given to a man for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor girl, who was later found to be an adult.The court said that since the laws are in favour of women, men get convicted relying upon the laws which were made when the concept of live-in was nowhere in existence.Allowing a criminal appeal filed by one Chandresh, a division bench comprising Justices Siddharth and Prashant Mishra on Jan 8 observed that there is an increasing tendency among the youth to live together without the solemnization of marriage under the influence of western ideas and the concept of live-in. When such relations fail, FIRs are lodged, the bench said.The HC set aside the judgment and order of conviction and sentence, including life imprisonment given to Chandresh in March 2024 by a special judge, Pocso Act, Maharajganj. The court also noted that the school records the prosecution relied on lacked any documentary foundation under the Juvenile Justice Rules. Her bone test later revealed her to be a major.The court also took into account the girl’s conduct as she admitted in her testimony that she left her house willingly and travelled with the appellant by public transport to Gorakhpur and then to Bangalore. The court held that the conviction under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 366 (abduction for marriage) of IPC was absolutely unwarranted as per the law as the girl was a major and had eloped of her own free will.The court further set aside the conviction under section 3(2)(V) of the SC/ST Act, noting it is not an independent provision and applies only where the accused is punished with imprisonment of 10 years or more under the IPC. Thus, concluding that trial court had not properly considered the evidence on record, the HC set aside the conviction and allowed the convict’s appeal.
