‘Mental age’ of 8 or 9 years cannot automatically mean adult woman lacks sexual capacity: Gauhati HC acquits rape convict

The Gauhati High Court has acquitted a man convicted of raping a 24-year-old woman with intellectual disability, holding that the prosecution failed to produce specific expert evidence showing that her condition rendered her incapable of understanding the nature of sexual intercourse or giving valid consent. The Court also found that the victim's statement under Section 164 CrPC could not be treated as her examination-in-chief because mandatory safeguards applicable to a mentally disabled victim had not been followed.

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