A judge in India overturned a rape conviction
earlier this week, explaining that despite the victim’s verbal and physical
resistance, the accused had reason to believe that she consented, according the
Guardian.
Bollywood movie director Mahmood Farooqui was
sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted for the rape of an
American graduate student at his home last year. After appealing his conviction,
a judge ruled in his favor and overturned it.
Justice Ashutosh Kumar explained that he had to give
Farooqui “the benefit of the doubt” because “instances of woman behavior are
not unknown that a feeble no may mean a yes”. The victim testified that she had
repeatedly refused Farooqui’s advances and physically resisted, but he
restrained her when she tried to prevent him from removing her clothes.
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The verdict is raising concerns
about what constitutes consent in India. Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nundy said
it “muddies the water and will confuse a lot of the issues around consent”. The
Times of India also criticized it, saying that
it “set a potentially dangerous precedent that a no does not always necessarily
mean no”.
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