In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has held that a woman entering a hotel room with a man does not imply consent to sexual intercourse. Justice Bharat P. Deshpande observed that the act of a woman booking and entering a room with a man “cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered as her consent for sex.”
The Goa bench of the High Court issued this judgment on September 3, overturning a lower court’s March 2021 decision, which had dismissed a rape complaint on grounds that the woman’s presence in the hotel room implied consent. The High Court firmly disagreed, stating that while the accused and complainant both participated in booking the room, this alone does not constitute consent.
“Even if it is accepted that the victim went inside the room along with the accused, the same cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered as her consent for sexual intercourse,” Justice Deshpande remarked, as reported by Bar and Bench.
The case centers around allegations that the accused had offered the woman a private employment opportunity overseas, using this as a pretext to meet in a hotel room. According to the complaint, upon arrival, the accused threatened the woman’s life and proceeded to sexually assault her. The woman managed to escape and promptly reported the incident to the police.
The High Court criticized the lower court’s conclusion that consent was implied merely because the woman helped book the room, noting this interpretation was inconsistent with established legal principles. Following the incident, the accused was arrested and charged under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).