Manak Chand Vs State Of Haryana: A Case Study On Consent, Age, And Credibility

Yash More, B.B.A LL.B (Hons.), University of Mumbai Law Academy

INTRODUCTION

When it comes to grave and gruesome crimes such as rape, especially if the case involves a minor girl, we are struck with a sense of urgency to deliver judgment as quickly as possible. There is nothing inherently wrong with this it is a noble thought, the phrase ‘Justice denied is justice delayed’ perfectly describes the ideal scenario that every authority should strive for. But in certain rare cases, these authorities miss out on certain key details because of which we fail to deliver justice.

Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code1 deals with the crime of ‘rape’, it laid downs 6 descriptions of acts that will constitute an offense of ‘rape’ out of which the last one deals with a minor. It states that if sexual intercourse is engaged with a girl under sixteen years of age it will amount to rape, here the question of consent does not arise because the law does not take into consideration the presence or absence of consent. In such cases determining the age is of utmost priority. In the landmark judgment of Harpal Singh & Anr. Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh2 it was held that consent obtained by a minor is no consent at all if it is proved that sexual intercourse happened at the time when the woman was minor it automatically constitutes rape.

In our adversarial system of criminal jurisprudence, the guiding principle shall always be the Blackstone ratio which holds that ‘it is better that one guilty person escape than one innocent be punished.’ It is the duty of the courts to keep an open mind while examining the evidence and for the accused to be presumed innocent till proven guilty. But sometimes in the heat of litigation, this principle can be overlooked.