In a judgment that underscores the severity of familial betrayals, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has upheld the conviction of a man who raped his mother-in-law, a crime the court described as a “shameful act.” Justice G A Sanap presided over the single bench that delivered the ruling on Tuesday.
The convict, who was sentenced in March 2022 by a sessions court to 14 years in prison for the rape of his 55-year-old mother-in-law in December 2018, challenged the verdict, claiming the sexual relations were consensual. However, the High Court dismissed this claim, emphasizing the gravity of his betrayal and the psychological and emotional scars left on the victim.
During the proceedings, it was revealed that the victim was of the same age as the convict’s own mother. The court noted, “The appellant defiled the womanhood of the prosecutrix, his mother-in-law, who could never have imagined that her son-in-law would commit such a deplorable act with her.”
The incident occurred when the accused visited the victim, demanded that she intervene to reunite him with her daughter, from whom he was separated. Under the pretense of discussing their familial issues, he took the victim to his house, where he consumed alcohol and raped her three times.
The victim reported the incident to her daughter and subsequently lodged a police complaint, a decision that the court recognized as incredibly difficult given the stigmatic consequences of such revelations. “Reporting of such a matter to the police invites stigmatic consequences. If it was a consensual act, then she would not have at all reported the incident to the police,” the court’s judgment read.
