BENGALURU: The High Court of Karnataka on Friday stayed the proceedings against Krishna J Rao, son of a BJP leader from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district, who is accused of repeated rape promising marriage, subject to the condition that he – either personally or through his parents – has to pay a compensation of Rs 75,000 per month to ensure the sustenance and welfare of the victim and her 10-month-old baby, till the final disposal of the petition.
Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the interim order after hearing the petition filed by Rao, questioning the proceedings pending against him for the offences punishable under Sections 64(2)(m) and 69 of the BNS (repeated rape and having sexual intercourse on false promise of marriage) before the trial court.
According to the interim order, the petitioner and the complainant, now aged 22 and 20 years, respectively, were entwined in a relationship that blossomed from friendship into intimacy and ultimately culminated in a sexual relationship, resulting in a child being born. It was medically substantiated that the petitioner is the biological father of the child.
The counsel for the petitioner contended that the acts in question were entirely consensual, arising out of mutual affection and thus fall outside the ambit of the penal provisions invoked. Contrariwise, the counsel for the victim submitted that the young woman, now barely 20 years of age, has become a mother out of the relationship.
The parents of the complainant suffer from abject poverty, as the mother works as a housekeeping staff and the father is a daily wager labourer. The family is ill-equipped to shoulder the responsibility of caring for both the complainant and the child, he argued.
Additional State Public Prosecutor BN Jagadeesha also echoed the argument, underscoring the precarious condition in which the complainant and her family currently stand.
The court said it is shocking that a young woman, now merely 20 years of age, has been thrust prematurely into the responsibilities of motherhood. At an age when life avenues or opportunities should have unfolded with promise, she now finds herself burdened with unforeseen obligations. The matter cannot be confined to consensual acts, and it should grant a blanket stay of further proceedings. The baby is now merely 10 months old. The evident hardship faced by the complainant and the family cannot be brushed aside. The mother and the child are in the lurch, the court noted.
Referring to a contention that the petitioner is still a student, the court observed that such considerations cannot eclipse the pressing needs of the child and the mother.
Meanwhile, the court directed that the complainant, her family and relatives shall exercise restraint and refrain from engaging with the Press or media until the subject matter reaches its judicial conclusion.