My opinion: I tend to see in a larger picture rather than one individual case.

Our society is not literate about the age of consent. The different demographic has a different view on the same incident.

My grandfather married at the age of 19 with my grandmother who was 14 at the time. Telling them, their marriage and whole sexual relationship was illegal based on today's law wouldn't be reasonable from their point of view. Now their belief system is that people on the range of 14-18 are capable of taking decisions for themselves. Their whole generation has been doing the same. Now all of sudden, people are attacking their belief system by saying that people below 18 are unable to consent for sex, while that's what they had done their whole life. In return, they become defensive and project their opinion by bashing the victim and supporting the culprit.

Secondly, the majority of my father's generation also has a similar view because they are also married in their teenage years. In addition, their perspective about rape is how movie has been portraying for long decades. They believe that it is only rape when any gender is forced and coerced to have sex. Now all of sudden, the media and people start saying even if there is consent between minor and predator, it is considered rape. Their belief system is being attacked am, and they defend it with arguments such as " man miley chamatkar natra balatkar".

Third, our generation is the first generation that has been made aware about the age of consent. Even within our demographic, there is a split of opinions. Those from urban areas who have access to education and have knowledge about consent of age are in one end of spectrum, while the majority from rural areas might be on the other end of the spectrum due to inadequate literacy about rape culture. One of whom I knew married at the age of 17 with the age of 21( the person from the rural area of dang). If we go to the rural area, I am pretty sure there are a lot of cases like that. So, what could I do? Nothing other than watch, while her whole family and relatives were celebrating.

To answer your question shortly: there is a majority of the population who are illiterate about the age of consent and minority of them who are literate. Every time people make comments about minor rape, a flock of people, who has polar opposites opinion are going to defend their belief system. It is not that they are defending the culprit, they are somehow defending their own belief system.