Telangana: Think before you elope with minors

Hyderabad: In July second week this year, a police constable working at the Trimulgherry traffic police station was arrested by Cyberabad East police for allegedly kidnapping and molesting a minor.  The cop P. Sai Kumar faced charges of 366-A of IPC (for abduction) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

But the reality was that the cop had only eloped with his lover not forcefully kidnapped. Because his lover was aged below 18 years old, the police arrested him when they received a complaint from her father, Babu Singh. While Babu Singh was submitting his complaint at the police station, the constable and the girl were getting married at Arya Samaj in Chengicherla on the city outskirts.

Recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau reveals that over 173 children and teenagers were kidnapped by men for marriage in Telangana state last year.  Though the number looks alarming, the ‘kidnap’ and ‘compulsion’ are nuanced.   Similarly, in 18 per cent of the more than 700 rape cases registered in Telangana  — where  all victims were minors — the offense took place after the kidnap of the victims for marriage.  

 According to police officials, as per law, all elopement cases are booked under abduction charges in the First Information Report if the girl is aged below 18 years. The offense is categorized ‘kidnap’ to compel girls for marriage. After the elopement, if the male partner has consensual sex, that is considered rape.  In a majority of these cases, the men (suspects) are above 18 years and thus luring a minor girl makes it a serious offense.

“As per the law, till a girl turns adult (18 years old), the parents have the right and obligation to protect her. If an elopement takes place and the girl is minor, her consent would be immaterial and the man would be booked for kidnapping. Parents have the right to lodge a complaint against the man and seek action,” said a senior police official from Hyderabad.

Legal experts say that if the elopement involves a minor boy and a major woman, the woman can also be booked under the same acts. Last year in August second week,  a Madras High Court Bench had directed the Tirunelveli police to book a 23-year- old woman for eloping with a minor boy.

As per the NCRB, the motive behind 27 % of all abductions of children and teenagers reported in Telangana last year was marriage.

Conviction rate low in kidnaps for marriage
Rate of conviction in kidnap for marriage cases is very low. Most of the time, after the kidnap, when the victim becomes major, the suspect marries her legally settling the case. In some cases, victim refuses to cooperate with prosecution since she willingly eloped with the suspect and that makes it difficult for the prosecution. In other cases, parents, who are worried about the future of the victim, settle the case with the suspect.

Meanwhile, rape cases in which consensual sex took place but the girl is minor, have higher rate of conviction compared to the former case. It is because the court and prosecution primarily focus on seduction by the suspect.

According to legal experts, the prosecution argument weakens when the victim refuses to cooperate. “If the victim testifies that she willingly went or eloped with the suspect before the trial, it weakens the case.  During the trial, if she goes on to state the same the case might end up in the acquittal of the suspect. However, the judgement also depends upon how strong the prosecution argument is. In some cases, conviction can also happen despite victims supporting the suspect in court,” said lawyer, Gulam Rabbani.

The lawyers, who handled such cases, say that most cases end in settlement with parents consenting to marriage. “The parents of couples usually compromise. They would then get them married once the girl turns 18,” said another lawyer.

In one case in Rajendranagar a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl eloped. The police booked a case of kidnap after a complaint from the girl’s parents. Police arrested the suspect. Meanwhile, the girl turned 18 and she refused to cooperate with the prosecution. Later, the defense filed a petition at a higher court and got the case quashed.