SRINAGAR: A fast-track court in Kulgam on Tuesday convicted Yawar Ahmad Bhagat of raping a minor girl and sentenced him to eight years of rigorous imprisonment. The verdict was delivered by the Presiding Officer and Additional District and Sessions Judge Parvaiz Iqbal, reports appearing in media said.
The case originated from an FIR (No. 92/2018) registered at Police Station Yaripora against Yawar Ahmad Bhagat and two others. However, in its judgment dated March 12, 2025, the court acquitted Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Bhagat and Shabir Ahmad Bhagat of charges under Sections 363 and 109 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). While the court also acquitted Yawar Ahmad Bhagat of abduction charges, it found him guilty of statutory rape.
The court noted that although the accused and the minor girl were in a relationship and the act was reportedly ‘consensual,’ the girl’s consent was legally irrelevant as she was a minor. At the time the FIR was registered, the girl, aged 17, was 36 weeks pregnant. The convict had disowned paternity, leaving her to seek justice.
In its sentencing order, the court took into account the convict’s age, the dependence of his elderly parents, and his future prospects before awarding him the minimum sentence prescribed under Section 376 RPC.
