Court acquits man booked for rape on pretext of marriage

The court noted that though prima facie, the charge of rape was proved, the woman had entered into a relationship with the accused man without obtaining a formal divorce from her husband.

A sessions court recently acquitted a 44-year-old man of charges of rape on pretext of marriage and refused to accept the 40-year-old complainant’s contention that she had obtained a divorce from her husband through a custom prevalent in their society.

The court noted that though prima facie, the charge of rape was proved, the woman had entered into a relationship with the accused man without obtaining a formal divorce from her husband. “The prosecutrix is an elderly woman, well aware of worldly things. She indulged in sexual relations with the accused, admittedly, without taking a divorce from her husband,” the court observed.

The complainant is a social worker who helps people resolve family disputes. According to the complaint registered at Sakinaka police station, she met the accused while working on a case. The two are distant relatives, the complaint states. In 2012, the man said he wanted to marry her and the two entered into a relationship. On May 14, 2015, the accused raped the woman on the pretext of marriage, the complainant said. After he did not keep his promise to marry her, she approached the police on May 18, 2015.

The court observed that the prosecution had proved “ingredients of rape” as defined under section 375 of Indian Penal Code. However, the court held that the woman had consented to the sexual relationship knowingly. The court observed that the case of rape was filed only to pressurise the accused into marriage.