WILL YOU MARRY THE VICTIM? CJI BOBDE ASKS THE RAPIST AS A REMARK

CJI Bobde's remark came during the hearing of a different case Monday. A bench headed by him was hearing a petition filed by a 14-year old who had sought permission to abort her 26-week old foetus. The girl from Haryana, had alleged that she had been "cruely raped" by her cousin, leading to an unwanted pregnancy.

Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde Monday said he was misreported on his oral remark during a hearing in a rape case, in which he asked the accused if he would marry the victim. The court was hearing a case against Mohit Subhash Chavan, a technician in the Maharashtra State Electric Production Company Ltd who was accused of raping a minor girl in 2014-15. He was allegedly 17-18 years old then, and the girl was his distant relative and student of Class 9 at the time.

Wrong and immoral understanding of the age of Consent. The occurrence of the alleged sexual assault was in 2014. Both the victim and the accused were of the same age group. They were 16 years old and were considered adults, NOT MINORS, as per the existing law (under Section 376 of IPC) at that time.

POCSO Act and this case: The incident took place well after the passing of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses. This Act clearly states that anyone under the age of 18, cannot give valid consent for sexual intercourse. The Bar council's narration of the alleged incident not only suffers from legal fallacy but also commits the wrong of unilaterally assuming that the alleged victim had consented to the sexual acted. Even after the victim repeatedly told the court, she had not consented to it, it was RAPE.

THIS ATROCIOUS AND INSENSITIVE STATEMENT SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY TAKEN BACK BY THE JUDGE AND OFFICIALLY WITHDRAWN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITH AN UNCONDITIONAL APOLOGY.