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After his refusal, the victim approached the police and

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Press Trust of India
in order to save himself, Deepak along with his family members took her to a temple and exchanged garlands saying he has married her and left her after taking photographs as proof. The court said, "Needless to mention here that Deepak is a Hindu and the girl is a Muslim and the two could not have married unless one of them converted to the religion of the other, or they got married under the Special Marriage Act." The accused was held guilty for raping and fraudulently performing marriage ceremony without lawful marriage. Regarding the girl's consent in having physical relations with the accused, the judge said it was clear from her evidence that Deepak developed physical relations with her on the promise of marrying her after the marriage of his sister. "Had he not so promised, she would not have allowed him to have physical relations with her... "The girl reacted immediately upon coming to know that the accused has broken his promise to marry her and had been establishing sexual relations with her on the basis of false promise, implying thereby that her consent for the sexual act was obtained under a misconception of fact, thus constituting rape within the meaning of Section 375 IPC," the court added. The convict had sought leniency on the ground that he was a factory worker and his family was dependent on him. The court, however, refused to show leniency saying that he has raped a young woman who was helpless, defenceless, vulnerable and an easy prey and he has violated the sanctity of the relationship between them.

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First Published: Feb 17 2013 | 9:00 AM IST

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