KOCHI: Coming down heavily on a woman who allegedly facilitated the rape of her minor daughter by the girl’s stepfather, the Kerala High Court observed that her actions were an ‘insult to motherhood.’ “The allegations against the petitioner are very serious and, if true, they are an insult to motherhood,” the court observed while dismissing the bail plea of the woman, the second accused.
The prosecution said there was even an allegation that the woman, on one occasion, stripped the minor at the behest of the stepfather, the first accused. Between 2018 and 2023, the man, with the knowledge and consent of the woman, indulged in sexually flavoured talks with the survivor.
The girl was forced to send her nude pictures to her stepfather’s phone. He first raped the minor in October 2018 and continued the activity. The man committed the act in connivance with the girl’s mother, the prosecution said.
The woman’s counsel submitted that there was no material to suggest she had a role in the crime.
However, Justice Gopinath P observed: “The petitioner, being the biological mother, maybe in a position to influence or intimidate her if granted bail. The victim’s statement that she was subjected to rape even in the presence of her mother is another reason that compels me to hold that the petitioner is not entitled to bail.”