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The Calcutta High Court in a recent decision held a man guilty of rape and cheating for having repeated sexual intercourse with a minor girl under the false promise of marriage. The Court was hearing an appeal against a Trial Court decision which held the man guilty and sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.

The victim girl, then aged about 17 years  developed a love affair with the appellant Rajesh Mallick. Giving promise to marry her, the accused sexually exploited her several times. Out of sexual cohabitation between them, the victim girl became pregnant. The parents of the victim girl went to the house of the appellant with the victim girl and requested them to give the appellant in marriage withh the victim girl. But, they flatly refused to give their son Rajesh Mallick in marriage with her. They drove the victim girl and her parents out of their house abusing them in filthy languages. Getting no other alternative for redressal of their grievances, the informant lodged a written complaint at Memari Police Station. Trial Judge by the judgment as impugned held the appellant (hereinafter be referred to as the accused) guilty for commission of the offence punishable under Sections 376/417, I.P.C. Aaggrieved by the judgment and the order of conviction and sentence the appellant went in appeal.

The accused argued that the sexual intercourse was consensual given the fact that the victim and accused cohabited. Per Contra, the counsel for the victim alleged that th4e victim only agreed to such intimacy based on the false promise of marriage.

The High Court bench of Justice Rabindranath Samantha relied on the Supreme Court decision in State of Himachal Pradesh Vs Gyan Chand wherein the Court held that conviction can be based on the sole testimony by the prosecutrix, provided it is natural, trustworthy and worth being relied upon.

“The court must remain alive to the fact that in a case of rape or sexual offence no self-respecting woman would come forward in a court just to make a humiliating statement against her honour.”

Justice Samantha referred to the medical record, which stated that the victim is accustomed to regular sexual intercourse and has no sign/ bruise of forced entry.

The Court thus upheld the decision of the trial judge and held the accused guilty stating:

“I find that the evidence of the prosecutrix and the medical evidence in this regard establish the factum without any shadow of doubt that the accused giving a false promise to marry the victim girl sexually ravished and exploited her and as a result of which she conceived. It appears from the evidence on record that the victim girl has given birth to a child.  Therefore, I concur with the findings recorded by the Learned Trial Judge that the accused is guilty of commission of offence punishable under Sections 376/417, I.P.C.”

Rajesh Mallick v. State of W.B.