Prosecution Must Prove Victim Below 16 for Pre-2013 Offences: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court ruled that in cases initiated before the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, the prosecution bears the burden of proving that the victim was below 16 years of age to sustain a conviction for rape.

The Court made this observation while acquitting a man convicted of allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl in 2005. The Court noted that at the time of the incident, the statutory age of consent was 16, not 18, as amended later.

Consequently, the prosecution was required to establish the victim’s age beyond a reasonable doubt to justify the conviction, which it had failed to do.

[Udai Pal v. State]