Case Title: State vs Mohd Kayum

A division bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of Delhi High Court while upholding the acquittal of a Muslim man accused of raping a 15-year-old girl who was his wife (Muslim girl), said that the relationship between the accused with the victim cannot be considered as a rape.

The bench found that the accused had a sexual intercourse with the victim only after they got married to each other.

“We find that since the child victim was the wife who was almost fifteen years of age, the physical relationship of the accused with the victim, cannot be termed as rape. The respondent has been rightly acquitted”.

According to the Muslim personal law, a Muslim girl over the age of fifteen years can marry a person with her choice and thus, sexual intercourse with such girl is not considered as an offence.

The FIR was registered by the child’s mother stating that the accused came to her house four to five times when the child is alone and committed rape upon her.

Victim stated in the trial court that the accused was husband of her elder sister. She further stated that she along with her mother, her sister and accused went to attend the marriage of their cousins in Bihar, after which she got married to the accused.

The trial court agreed with the conclusion that the victim got married to the accused and only therafter, they had a sexual intercourse which is not considered as an offence under the POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act). 

Thereafter, the appeal was filed by the state against the judgement of trial court before the High Court.

The parents of the victim were not aware about her marriage with the accused.

After considering the facts of the case, the bench dismissed the appeal

After considering the facts of the case, the Court concluded that there was no ground to grant leave to appeal. The application was, therefore, dismissed.

The bench upholds the acquittal of the accused.