SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh has acquitted a Kulgam man convicted in a rape case, holding that the prosecution failed to conclusively prove that the prosecutrix was a minor and observing that the case arose out of a consensual relationship between two young persons.
Justice Sanjay Dhar, in a judgment delivered on April 24, 2026, set aside the March 12, 2025 conviction and eight-year sentence awarded by the Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track Court), Kulgam, to Yawar Ahmad Bhagat under Section 376 RPC.
The case dates back to December 2018 when FIR No. 92/2018 was registered at Police Station Yaripora after the girl’s father alleged that his daughter had been kidnapped. During investigation, police recovered the girl from the appellant’s company and later added rape charges after medical examination. The prosecution alleged that the girl, who was stated to be below 18 years of age, became pregnant following sexual relations with the accused.
Appearing for the appellant, advocate Zahid Hussain, assisted by advocates Bhat Shafi, Zahid Afzal and Naveed Bukhtiyar, argued that the relationship was consensual and that there was no reliable evidence to establish the prosecutrix’s age. Representing the UT administration, Government Advocate Zahid Qais Noor defended the conviction.
The High Court noted contradictions between the prosecutrix’s statement before the Magistrate under Section 164-A CrPC and her deposition before the trial court. In her earlier statement, she had said that she voluntarily accompanied the accused to Jammu and that no rape had been committed upon her.
The court found that the prosecution had relied mainly on a school certificate showing her date of birth as January 14, 2001, but failed to establish the basis on which the entry had been made. The court observed that neither the father nor the sister of the prosecutrix could state her exact date of birth.
“It can, thus, safely be stated that the prosecution has failed to establish that the prosecutrix was minor as on the date of the occurrence,” the court held.
Justice Dhar further observed that the case reflected a consensual relationship which later resulted in criminal prosecution because of family opposition. “Putting the appellant behind the bars would be perversity of justice,” the court said while directing his immediate release.
