SC questions victim’s character, acquits rape accused

The Supreme Court (SC) has acquitted a man convicted of rape, saying the victim was “a woman of easy virtue”. “The prosecutrix (victim) appears to be a lady used to sexual intercourse and dissolute. She had no objection in… having free movement with any of her known persons, for enjoyment,” a bench of justices Mukundakam Sharma and BS Chauhan held while quashing a Guwahati high court judgment upholding the conviction of Musa.

Musa had defended himself saying it was “consensual sex”. The trail court had sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment, while the high court reduced the punishment to four years. Disagreeing with the two judgments, SC said, “Thus she appeared to be a woman of easy virtues”.

The judges also rejected the victim’s plea that since she was a minor, she couldn’t have given consent for sex. The bench also pointed out a number of contradictions in the victim’s statements to the police and during her examination before the trial court.