Entering hotel room with man no signal of consent for sex: HC

PANAJI: Merely entering a hotel room with a man doesn't imply a woman's consent to sex, the high court of Bombay at Goa held while setting aside a sessions court order discharging a rape accused.

Noting that the survivor came out of the hotel room crying and immediately filed a police complaint for rape, Justice Bharat Deshpande said the additional sessions judge had erred in concluding that the woman booking the hotel room and going there with the accused meant she consented to sexual intercourse. The HC directed the trial court to frame charges against the accused for rape and criminal intimidation, saying there was sufficient material to proceed against him.

Justice Deshpande said the sessions judge "has clearly mixed two aspects - going inside with the accused in a room without any protest, and giving consent for what happened in the room".

The survivor alleged that the accused took her to the hotel on the pretext of a meeting with an agent, who was supposed to provide her a job abroad.