“If a woman goes to a hotel room with a man, it does not mean that there is consent for having physical relations”

A woman booking a hotel room with a man and entering the room does not mean that she is ready to have physical relations. This was stated by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court in an important decision. Bombay High Court Judge Bharat P Deshpande said this. Giving this argument, the High Court in March 2021 quashed the trial court’s order in the rape case in which the case against the accused Gulsher Ahmed was closed.

What did the court say?

According to Bar and Bench, while hearing the case, the judge said that even if it is assumed that the woman went to the room with the man, it cannot be considered as her consent to have physical relations in any way. The court said that there is evidence that both the victim and the accused played a role in booking the room. But this cannot be seen as consent to have physical relations in any way.

What did the trial court say?

While hearing this rape case, the trial court had said in its judgment that the woman had played an important role in booking the hotel room with the accused and had also gone to that room with the accused. Therefore, she had consented to have physical relations with the man inside the room. The trial court had then ordered discharge. After this order, the rape case against the accused was closed. However, now the High Court has rejected this order.

What is the whole matter?

According to Bar and Bench, this entire case came to light in March 2020. The woman had alleged that the accused had offered her a private job abroad. The accused deceived the woman and brought her to the room on the pretext of meeting an agency for a job. The victim alleged that as soon as she went to the room, the accused threatened to kill her and then raped her. According to the woman, when the accused went to the bathroom, she fled from the room and the hotel and told the police about the incident.