Danishwar Hameed
Kulgam, Mar 14: Yawar Ahmad Bhagat has been sentenced to eight years of rigorous imprisonment for statutory rape by the Fast Track Court/Additional District & Sessions Judge Kulgam, Mr. Parvaiz Iqbal.
The verdict stems from FIR No. 92 of 2018, filed at Police Station Yaripora, concerning the sexual exploitation of a minor girl.
While Bhagat was initially charged along with two others, Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Bhagat and Shabir Ahmad Bhagat, the court acquitted them of charges under sections 363 and 109 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). Yawar Ahmad Bhagat was also acquitted of charges under section 363 RPC (kidnapping). However, he was found guilty of statutory rape under section 376 RPC.
The court emphasized that despite evidence suggesting a “consensual” love affair between Bhagat and the minor girl, her consent was deemed inconsequential due to her age. At the time the FIR was filed, the girl, aged 17, was 36 weeks pregnant.
The court noted that Bhagat had disowned paternity, leaving the young woman without recourse.
“Though the minor girl and the convict were having a love affair and their relationship was ‘consensual,’ once the girl is minor, i.e., of the age of less than 18 years, her consent is inconsequential,” the court stated in its judgment.
In addition to the eight-year prison sentence, Bhagat was fined Rs. 10,000.
The court, while imposing the minimum sentence under section 376 RPC, took into consideration Bhagat’s age, the dependency of his elderly parents, and his future career prospects. However, the severity of the crime and the vulnerability of the victim were paramount in the final decision.
