Chhattisgarh High Court Rules Woman's Consent Crucial In Miscarriage Offence Cases
· India · Indian Express, BBC News
The Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that merely proving a woman was pregnant and subsequently suffered a miscarriage is insufficient to secure a criminal conviction. Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal acquitted a man convicted in May 2016 of rape and causing a miscarriage, noting that the prosecution failed to establish lack of consent or a direct causal link. The case originated from a May 2013 FIR lodged by a married woman who alleged the accused sexually exploited her on a promise of marriage before administering pills to cause a miscarriage. Medical examinations confirmed the woman was 10 to 12 weeks pregnant at the time, but the High Court emphasized that establishing the accused's direct act without the woman's consent remains mandatory for conviction.
Why it matters
The ruling sets a stringent legal precedent requiring rigorous medical and circumstantial proof regarding consent and causation in criminal miscarriage prosecutions across India.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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