Failed relationships not rape, says Delhi HC, sets aside case against man

In the present case, the woman had filed a rape case last year alleging that the man induced her into establishing physical relations on the false pretext of marriage and later married another woman

Allowing failed intimate relationships to be converted into rape cases is against the constitutional vision of justice and undermines the true spirit of laws governing sexual offences, the Delhi high court has said, while quashing a rape case filed by a 24-year-old woman.

The bench, in its 18-page verdict quashed the case, noting that the woman had herself admitted that she willingly accompanied him and continued the relationship voluntarily, even after their families rejected the proposal. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in her September 3 verdict, released on Monday, observed that the law governing the offence of rape is intended to punish those who exploit women by force or deception against their will and is not designed as a tool to be misused in situations where two consenting adults, fully aware of their choices and consequences, later part ways.

In the present case, the woman had filed a rape case last year alleging that the man induced her into establishing physical relations on the false pretext of marriage and later married another woman. The woman had alleged that though their families had met in Patna to fix their marriage, the same was broken following the demand of ₹1 crore as dowry. She also admitted that she willingly accompanied him and continued the relationship, even after their families rejected the proposal.

The man was arrested last November, and the court, after completion of the investigation, framed charges under rape, criminal intimidation against him.

The man later moved the high court seeking to quash the case, claiming that he had married the woman in January last year but kept it confidential at her insistence, as she wanted to clear the UPSC exam. He added that although he asked her to inform their families, she refused, and he eventually married another woman under family pressure. This, he alleged, led her to threaten him with false cases, make extortion demands, and finally lodge the present FIR.

The Delhi Police and the complainant opposed the petition, asserting that the man lured her into a physical relationship by making false promises of marriage. The woman further submitted that she never married him.

However, the bench, in its 18-page verdict quashed the case, noting that the woman had herself admitted that she willingly accompanied him and continued the relationship voluntarily, even after their families rejected the proposal. The bench further said the fact that the parties had undergone a marriage in January last year, also stood verified by the investigating agency.

“The present case exemplifies a situation where a consensual relationship, however complicated, cannot be recast as rape merely because it did not end in the way one party wished. To allow every failed relationship to be turned into a criminal prosecution for rape would run contrary not only to the constitutional vision of justice but also to the very spirit and purpose of the law on sexual offences,” Justice Sharma observed.

She added, “The law governing the offence of rape is intended to protect the bodily integrity and autonomy of women and to punish those who exploit them by force or by deception, which vitiates free consent. It is not designed to become a tool in disputes where two consenting adults, fully aware of their choices and the attendant consequences, subsequently fall apart.”

The bench further held that adults entering into intimate relationships must take responsibility for their decisions, and an educated and independent woman who willingly continues such a relationship, despite knowing the man is married, cannot later claim to have been misled or legally exploited.