Can a year-old girl be considered "mentally and physically fit" to give consent for sex? A judge of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has questioned the provisions of an law that permits this while terming it as "outdated and invalid". Justice V D Chaturvedi has shot off notices to both the union and the state governments for taking a fresh look at the law, which he says was designed to suit the then British rulers. The issue came up before the court on Friday in the case of an appeal by a man convicted of raping a year-old girl.
Convicted by a trial court to seven years' rigorous imprisonment, the rapist sought reprieve on the plea that the girl was above the age of 16 and was therefore, under law, entitled to give her consent for having sex with him.
Rejecting the plea, Justice Chaturvedi pointed out in his verdict that the Indian Penal Code IPC was drafted way back in and many of its provisions were tailored to suit the interest of the foreign rulers.
The court has even gone to the extent of observing that the law relating to consent for sex was apparently designed keeping in mind that most of the British officers had to live here without their families so they were bound to indulge in extra-marital sex with women of all ages.
The judge has also drawn comparison with other laws of the land which do not give several rights to persons of the age of 18 or even Get World Cup ready with Crickit! From live scores to match stats, catch all the action here. Explore now!
