An Indian court has overturned the seven year prison sentence against film director Mahmood Farooqui. In 2016, he was sentenced for sexually assaulting American postgraduate student, who is unnamed. Farooqui was supposedly drunk and forced himself upon the woman even when she repeatedly said no. Farooqui’s lawyers said that he insists that the encounter never happened and even if it did, he would have been too drunk to remember it. Justice Kumar said that it was uncertain whether the victim did not give consent because even though she testified that she said no, she ultimately went along with it only because she was in fear that if she did not cooperate, she could be murdered. Kumar said that “Instances of woman behaviour are not unknown that a feeble no may mean a yes,” he said. After reading the laws against sexual assault and rape in India, this decision shocked me. I mean the rules are clear about the terms of intoxication and consent and this breaks those. Even though he was drunk, she still said no. And whether he remembers it or not is his problem. The courts claimed that a feeble no can signal consent, especially since the victim was well educated. It shouldn’t matter who is more or less educated. She said no and he should’ve listened. This decision was unlawful and dishonest. There’s no point in having these laws if they are not going to be followed and enforced.
