New Delhi: A court here has acquitted a man accused of raping a woman on the pretext of marriage, saying the two developed physical intimacy in "youthful eagerness".
"It appears that the two, being in the prime of their youth, were having sexual relations with each other in youthful eagerness and nothing else," Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat said in his order acquitting Haryana resident Vikul Bakshi.
"There is no evidence on record to suggest that the prosecutrix had given her consent to physical relations with the accused solely on the latter's promise to marry her or that he was having knowledge that she consented to physical relations with him only on the promise to marry her."
The court found the statements of the woman contradictory and inconsistent.
The woman's consent to establish physical relations with the accused appears to be voluntary and uninfluenced by any promise or assurance, the court observed.
According to the prosecution, the woman had lodged a case against Bakshi that he forced himself on her twice without her consent on the pretext of marriage and threatened to defame her if she insisted upon marrying her. (IANS)