Being in Love Doesn’t Mean Consent for Sex: Kerala High Court

Kerala Justice R Narayana Pisharadi pointed out that consent should not be confused with submission.

The Kerala High Court observed that consent should not be confused with submission.

(Photo altered by The Quint)

Even if the woman is in love with the man, it cannot be presumed that she has given consent for sexual intercourse, the Kerala High Court said in an order on 31 October. Justice R Narayana Pisharadi pointed out that consent should not be confused with submission.

The remarks were made during the hearing of an appeal by 26-year-old Syam Sivan, against his conviction and subsequent sentencing by a trial court for alleged rape.

"Helplessness in the face of inevitable compulsion cannot be considered to be consent as understood in law. Exercise of intelligence based on the knowledge of the significance and the moral effect of the act is required for consent," the court said in its order, reported LiveLaw.

The accused, who worked as a cleaner in a bus, was in a relationship with a 17-year-old girl. In 2013, the accused apparently induced her to accompany him to Mysore and reportedly had sexual intercourse without her consent.

Following an investigation, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered and a charge sheet was filed against the accused. The trial court found him guilty and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years. He approached the High Court taking the plea of juvenility claiming that he was a minor at the time of the crime.

The court, however, set aside the conviction under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act as the age of the victim was not proved in court. The act of the accused clearly constitutes the offences punishable under Section 366 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code (Abduction and rape).

(With inputs from LiveLaw.)