‘Friendliness’ does not imply consent: Delhi HC

Delhi High Court denies bail to a man accused of raping a girl, emphasising that friendliness does not imply consent for sexual relations.

A girl’s friendliness, even on Valentine’s Day, cannot be construed as a license for forcibly establishing sexual relations, the Delhi High Court observed on Friday while denying bail to a man accused of raping a 17-year-old girl after allegedly applying vermilion to her hair parting without her consent.

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The case arose from an FIR registered in 2025, in which the survivor alleged that the accused — whom she had known over the phone for about a year — called her to his house on Valentine’s Day, allegedly applied vermilion to her hair parting, and established sexual relations with her without her consent. The FIR was registered against the man under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

In a three-page order, Justice Girish Kathpalia observed that the victim’s consistent stand in the FIR, her testimony during the trial, and her presence in the court to oppose the bail plea clearly indicated that the alleged incident occurred without her consent.

“Merely because a girl is friendly with a boy and the day is Valentine’s Day, it does not give the boy a license to forcibly establish sexual relations with her. Even filling the girl’s hair parting with vermilion without her consent cannot be justified, though it is not a prescribed offence,” Justice Kathpalia observed.

In his petition before the court, the man asserted that the day of the incident was “special” and that the victim was 18 years old and established sexual relations consensually.

Delhi police opposed the bail plea.