MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has observed that merely because a relationship between two adults has soured or not resulted in marriage, one of them cannot allege rape at a later stage. Justice Bharti Dangre, in her judgment delivered on March 24, acquitted the man accused of rape.
Significantly, a woman had registered a rape case against the man at the suburban Versova police station in 2016. A copy of the judgment in the matter was made available this week.
The court has said, in a situation where two adults come together and enter into a relationship, one cannot be held guilty of the act (rape) merely because at some point in time the relationship between the two did not go well or for some reason, it did not lead to marriage. Could not convert.
In her complaint, the woman (26) claimed that she had met the man through social media and had physical relations with him on false promises of marriage. The man later moved the court to be discharged in the case, pleading innocence.
The judge, while accepting the plea of the petitioner, took note of the fact that the two were in a relationship for eight years. Justice Dangre said that merely because the relationship had turned sour, it cannot be inferred that on every occasion the physical relationship was made against her will.
The judgment noted that according to the complainant’s statement, she consented to physical relations not only for marriage but also because she (the complainant) was in love with the person.
