KOLKATA: A division bench of the Calcutta High Court has observed that even a consensual physical relationship with a minor girl is not an excusable offence.
The division bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta made this observation while pronouncing a verdict in a case where the division bench had upheld an earlier order by a lower court pronouncing life imprisonment for the accused.
The order by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench upholding the lower court order was pronounced on Wednesday, and the copy of the order was uploaded on Thursday morning.
A case was heard in the lower court where the accused was charged under Section 64 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment. Later, the accused challenged the sentence in the division bench of the high court.