A case was filed in Mumbai in 2018 against multiple men for sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy, who met them on Grindr app, a social networking and dating app for the LGBTQ community. (Express File Photo)
A special court in Mumbai said on Monday said that two men booked for sexual abuse of a teenager in 2018 cannot be discharged on the ground that minor victim presented himself as a ‘major’ on a dating app.
The court rejected discharge pleas filed by the two accused men.
A case was filed in Mumbai in 2018 against multiple men for sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy, who met them on Grindr app, a social networking and dating app for the LGBTQ community. Two of them recently sought to be discharged from the case, stating that the app is only for those who have attained 18 years of age and the minor had signed up on it by claiming to be above 18.
Boy is minor and consent, ‘immaterial’: Court
“The arguments on behalf of the accused that victim presented himself as a ‘major’ on the Grindr App cannot be a ground for discharging the accused. Since the victim boy is minor and his consent is immaterial, the criminal liability of the accused in the given circumstances would be determined during the trial. But at this stage, it cannot be said that there is no material against the accused,” special judge S B Rathod said. The men have been booked for charges including under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The offence was registered in 2018 when the then 16-year-old victim’s mother saw an unknown person exiting from her son’s room in the middle of the night.
She then inquired with her son and checked his phone to find the app and his chats with unknown persons. She took him to a counsellor and subsequently filed an FIR against one person, with at least eight others, including men in their 40s, booked later based on the chats on the app, for sexually harassing her son.
The two men who sought to be cleared of the charges denied any involvement in doing any forcible act with the minor. The court said that since the boy is a minor and there is prima facie evidence of sexual activity with the boy, the accused cannot be discharged from the case. “The volunteer act of the minor boy or any kind of behaviour of his mother cannot be a ground to discharge the accused from the allegations,” the court said.
Sadaf Modak is a distinguished Legal Correspondent based in Mumbai whose work demonstrates exceptional Expertise and Authority in covering the intricacies of the judicial and correctional systems. Reporting for The Indian Express, she is a highly Trustworthy source for in-depth coverage of courtroom proceedings and human rights issues.
Expertise
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Trial Court Proceedings: She mainly covers the trial courts of Mumbai, providing crucial, on-the-ground reporting on the day-to-day legal processes that affect citizens. She maintains a keen eye on both major criminal cases and the "ordinary and not so ordinary events" that reveal the human element within the justice system.
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Prisons and Incarceration: Covering the conditions, administration, and legal issues faced by inmates.
Juvenile Justice: Reporting on the complexities of the juvenile justice system and the legal rights of children.
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Sadaf Modak's blend of judicial focus and commitment to human rights issues establishes her as a vital and authoritative voice in Indian legal journalism.
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