India's top court on Friday upheld the acquittal of a Bollywood director accused of raping an American research scholar in a case that has sparked intense debate about consent in a country with high levels of sexual violence. Mahmood Farooqui was initially found guilty of rape in 2016, but the Delhi high court last year overturned the conviction on appeal, ruling the incident had been consensual. One of the judges hearing that appeal said Farooqui may not have been aware that the woman had not consented to sex, a comment that attracted fierce criticism from rights activists.
"In cases where the parties are known to each other, it could be really difficult to decipher whether a feeble 'no' - little or no resistance - actually amounts to denial of consent," said Justice Ashutosh Kumar. The alleged victim sought to appeal, but the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed her plea, saying the acquittal had been sound. "The high court judgement is well written. It does not require our interference," said S.A. Bobde, one of the judges hearing the case.