Bombay High Court rules entry into hotel room with a man is not consent for sex

The Bombay High Court at Goa has ruled that the mere fact a woman enters a hotel room with a man does not imply consent to sex. This observation came in a case where the survivor, after leaving the room crying, filed a police complaint for rape, reported TOI.

The court quashed a lower court’s order that had discharged the accused, stating there was enough evidence to frame charges of rape and criminal intimidation. It directed the trial court to proceed with framing the charges accordingly.

According to TOI, the High Court criticised the additional sessions judge’s ruling, which suggested that the survivor’s entry into the room implied consent. The court emphasised that the survivor’s immediate complaint and emotional distress contradicted any assumption of consent.

"Even if it is accepted that the victim went inside the room along with the accused, the same cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered as her consent for sexual intercourse,” the High Court stated.

“The learned additional sessions judge has clearly mixed two aspects — going inside with the accused in a room without any protest, and secondly, giving consent for what happened in the room,” Justice Bharat Deshpande added.

The court also noted that the complainant’s immediate reaction after exiting the room—crying, calling the police, and lodging a complaint—indicated that the alleged act was non-consensual, said the TOI report.

The accused had lured the complainant to the hotel under the pretence of meeting an agent who would offer her a job abroad. While it was true that both the accused and the complainant were involved in booking the room, the court emphasised that this did not equate to consent for sexual intercourse.