Nagpur, Oct. 22 -- The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has recently ruled that any degree of penetration qualifies as rape under Indian law, especially when the victim is a minor.
The court emphasized that in such instances, the issue of consent is legally irrelevant.
Justice Nivedita Mehta delivered the verdict while rejecting the appeal of a 38-year-old man from Hinganghat in Maharashtra's Wardha district.
The court upheld his conviction and 10-year prison sentence for attempting aggravated penetrative sexual assault on two minor girls, aged five and six.
"The act is complete upon insertion of any body part into the child's genitalia, the extent of penetration has no bearing on the offence," the judge stated, referencing the Pro...