Thane court acquits man accused of raping minor, says relationship appeared consensual

A special court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has acquitted a 28-year-old man accused of raping a minor girl with a promise of marriage, citing that the prosecution had failed to prove that the victim was underage at the time of the offence and the relationship appeared to be consensual.

Special judge S.P. Agarwal cleared the accused, Samsher Rais Khan, of charges under section 376(2)(n) (repeated rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.