'Love not crime', teen's lover freed

NEW DELHI: "The act of falling in love cannot be punished in the way other criminals are punished". With this observation, a trial court acquitted 22-year-old Sanjay of Jahangirpuri on charges of raping his 15-year-old girlfriend, although it held him guilty of kidnapping as he had not taken the consent of her parents.
The girl went missing on April 1, 2010, on which her father lodged a complaint that she had been kidnapped. She, however, returned home after a week. The teenager told the court that she had gone on an "outing" to Haridwar with her lover of her own will. The court also noted that the relationship between the two was later approved by both families.
Convicting Sanjay on charges of kidnapping, additional sessions judge Anju Bajaj Chandna sentenced him to three months in jail, but the term was set aside against the period of imprisonment he had already undergone in the course of the trial.
"It is clear that emotion of love and affection compelled the convict to take this step wherein he failed to acknowledge the presence and sanctity of consent of the parents of the girl," the court said. "Sanjay is a young man and is in the process of making his career and future. In my opinion, no purpose would be served by sending him behind bars where he would be living in the company of hardened criminals."
The judge added that the three months which Sanjay spent in jail was sufficient to teach him a lesson.