A fast-track court in Kulgam has convicted Yawar Ahmad Bhagat of statutory rape of a minor girl, sentencing him to eight years of rigorous imprisonment. The court found Bhagat guilty despite the fact that the minor girl, who was 17 years old and 36 weeks pregnant at the time of the FIR, was in a consensual relationship with him. However, the court emphasized that the girl’s consent was legally irrelevant due to her age.
The case originated from an FIR registered in 2018 against Bhagat and two others. While the court acquitted the other two individuals of charges under Sections 363 and 109 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), Bhagat was also acquitted of abduction charges. The court took into account Bhagat’s age, his elderly parents’ dependence on him, and his future prospects before awarding the minimum sentence prescribed under Section 376 RPC.
