The News Minute | December 30, 2014 | 10:15 am ISTCharacter of a rape victim should not come in the way of awarding sentence to a rapist, the Madurai bench of the High Court of Madras held.The reputation or status of a rape victim is an irrelevant factor for consideration, the court said while upholding the sentence given to an army man for raping a nurse on the false promise of marrying her, New Indian Express reported.G Balamurugan, an army man, had agreed to marry his sister’s friend. In 2009 he secured the permission of the victim’s parents to take her to Thirucendur where he raped her. He later refused to marry her as her family could not give Rs. 5 lakh as dowry which he had demanded.The girl then lodged a complaint and the Thoothukudi Fast Track Court awarded Balamurugan seven years of rigorous imprisonment and asked him to compensate the girl with Rs. 50,000. The appeal filed by Balamurugan to the Madurai bench was quashed. The judge Justice R. Mala held that the victim had consented to sex under the impression that the accused would marry her as both belonged to the same caste. “Therefore, I am of the view that believing the words of the appellant, who is an army man, the girl herself has given consent and thereafter, the appellant refused to marry her, which amounts to rape,” the judge said. Tweet