‘Woman enters hotel room with man without consent for sex’: Bombay High Court reverses court ruling in rape case | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Goa bank of the Bombay High Court has a controversial decision from the Margao Courtholding that a woman’s decision to book a hotel room and enter it with a man does not implicate her permission to sexual intercourse, Live Law reported.
In a judgment delivered on September 3 and recently made public, a single judge headed by Justice Bharat P. Deshpande dismissed a March 2021 dismissal order that had closed a rape case against the accused. Gulsher Ahmed. The court had initially ruled that since the woman had booked the hotel room and entered it with the suspect, she had implicitly consented to sexual activity. As a result, the court had acquitted Ahmed of the charges.
The Supreme Court found this reasoning to be fundamentally flawed. “Drawing such an inference is clearly contrary to the settlement offer and especially when the complaint was filed immediately after the incident,” the Supreme Court said. Justice Deshpande emphasized that merely entering the hotel room with the accused did not imply consent for sexual intercourse, regardless of the circumstances. “Even if it is accepted that the victim entered the room with the accused, this cannot in any way be considered as her consent to sexual intercourse,” the high court added.
The case dates back to March 2020, when Ahmed allegedly lured the woman with the promise of a job abroad. He convinced her to meet in a hotel room, claiming it was for an interview with an employment agency. The complaint alleges that both the victim and Ahmed booked the room together. Once inside, Ahmed allegedly threatened the woman with death and raped her.
After the assault, the woman fled when Ahmed briefly left the room. She immediately reported the incident to the police, leading to Ahmed’s arrest. He was charged under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Despite the victim’s swift reporting and charges against Ahmed, the court dismissed the case, concluding that the woman’s actions implied consent. However, after a protracted three-year legal battle, the Bombay High Court ruled that this conclusion was a legal error and reinstated the indictment, effectively reopening the case.