BAFFLING: Having forceful sex with menopausal woman not rape, rules Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court left everyone bemused with its recent judgment in which it said that sex with a menopausal woman cannot be considered as rape. 

Setting aside the verdict of a trail court, a division bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Mukta Gupta, acquitted a man on the grounds that 'even if the sexual intercourse was forceful, it was not forcible and contrary to the wishes and consent of the deceased'. 

49-year-old Achey Lal was accused of raping and killing a 60-year-old woman who died after the sexual encounter. A trial court had convicted him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment (RI). 


Setting aside the judgment, the bench of Delhi High Court said, “As regards the offence punishable under Section 376 IPC, the deceased was aged around 65-70 years, thus the age of menopause. We find force in the contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that even if the sexual intercourse was forceful it was not forcible.”

In December 2010, the sexagenarian woman was found dead inside her house in Majnu ka Tila in North Delhi in the month of December, 2010. The accused was found standing next to the victim in an inebriated condition.