MUMBAI: Observing that prima facie, a 15-year-old minor was capable of understanding the consequences of her act, Bombay high court granted bail to a 22-year-old man, arrested last year under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) for allegedly raping her.
The accused was 21 and she was 15 years and four month old when the alleged crime occurred. Her mother had lodged a complaint on April 6, 2021 after her daughter alleged that she accompanied him to his aunt’s house on the pretext of meeting her but forced himself on her when she was not at home. The minor in her statement on April 29 “admitted that she was known to the (accused) who was residing in their neighbourhood and for last two months, she was close to him and had developed a love relationship.’’
