Mumbai: In a landmark judgment, the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court reversed a controversial decision made by the Margao Trial Court, ruling that a woman’s act of booking a hotel room and entering it with a man does not constitute consent for sexual intercourse. This judgment, issued by Justice Bharat P. Deshpande, challenged the trial court’s previous interpretation of events as implicit consent, reinforcing the principle that entry into a hotel room cannot be construed as sexual consent.
The incident in question took place in March 2020, when the accused, Gulsher Ahmed, allegedly convinced the complainant to meet him in a hotel room under the guise of discussing overseas employment opportunities. According to the complaint, both parties had jointly booked the hotel room. Once they were alone, Ahmed allegedly threatened the woman’s life and forced her into non-consensual sexual activity. The woman reported the assault immediately after fleeing the room.
Initially, the trial court had dismissed the charges in March 2021, suggesting that the woman’s willingness to book and enter the hotel room alongside Ahmed implied her consent to sexual relations. However, the High Court criticized this interpretation as flawed and damaging, particularly given the immediacy of the victim’s police report following the incident. Justice Deshpande noted that consent for sexual activity cannot be assumed from contextual cues like room entry, adding that “Drawing such an inference is clearly against settled propositions of law.”
Ahmed, who faced charges under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), had previously been discharged due to the trial court’s reasoning. However, the High Court has since ordered the reinstatement of the charges, allowing the case to proceed.
This ruling reinforces legal standards around the concept of consent in India, marking a significant clarification in a case that has already spanned over three years of litigation. The judgment underscores that consent for entry into a hotel room or other private space cannot be equated with consent to sexual acts, reaffirming a commitment to victim rights and due process.
