Statutory Rape
Definition
Sexual intercourse with a person below the age of consent (18 in India), regardless of consent. The minor's consent is legally irrelevant.
- India age of consent
- 18 years
- Consent status
- Legally irrelevant below the age threshold
- Liability basis
- Age of the complainant, not force or coercion
Common questions
Why is the minor's stated consent irrelevant in a statutory rape charge?+
The law presumes a person below the age threshold cannot give legally valid consent to sexual intercourse, so the offence is established by the age gap and the act itself, regardless of what the minor said or how willingly they participated.
How does the forensic medical examination differ when the case turns on age rather than force?+
The examination and age-estimation evidence, such as ossification status or documentary proof of birth, become central to the case, while findings normally used to establish non-consent, such as injury patterns, may carry less weight when consent itself is not a legal defence.
Related terms
- Consent
- Under BNS 2023 Explanation 2 to Section 63, unequivocal voluntary agreement by words, gestures or any verbal or non-verbal communication. Absence of...
- Fast-Track Court
- Designated court (often Fast Track Special Court, FTSC) set up under the 2019 scheme to dispose POCSO and rape cases within stipulated...
- Marital Rape Exception
- Exception 2 to BNS 2023 Section 63 (carrying forward IPC 375 Exception 2): intercourse by a man with his own wife not...
- MoH&FW Protocol 2014
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Guidelines and Protocols for Medico-legal Care for Survivors and Victims of Sexual Violence, 2014. Standardised history,...
- Penetration
- Even slight penetration of the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus by the penis, any body part, or any object is sufficient to...
- POCSO 2012
- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (India); establishes criminal liability for child sexual abuse but does not mandate sex-offender...
- Rape (BNS 2023 Section 63)
- Sexual intercourse or specified penetrative acts by a man with a woman without her consent, against her will, by coercion, by misrepresentation,...
- Sexual Assault (POCSO)
- Under POCSO 2012, any non-penetrative sexual touch of a child with sexual intent. Aggravated sexual assault attracts higher punishment when committed by...
- Two-Finger Test
- Discredited per-vaginal examination once used to comment on habituation to intercourse. Banned by the Supreme Court in Lillu @ Rajesh v State...