The Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a landmark judgment clarifying that a married woman cannot file a rape case against a man if the sexual relationship was consensual, even if the relationship later sours. The Court emphasized that misuse of criminal law in such situations raises serious concerns about the justice system.
A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjwal Bhuyan highlighted that if a married woman voluntarily engages in a physical relationship with another man, she cannot allege rape on the grounds that the man had promised marriage. The ruling came while dismissing a criminal complaint filed by a woman lawyer against a male lawyer, who was accused of promising marriage and engaging in sexual activity.
The Supreme Court noted that at the time of the relationship, the complainant was already married and fully capable of giving consent. Therefore, even if there was a false promise of marriage, it does not provide legal grounds to classify consensual sex as rape. The judgment specifically cited Section 5(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which bars marriage between individuals if either party already has a living spouse.
The bench observed that such cases represent classic examples of disputes arising within consensual relationships and warned against criminalizing personal disagreements. The judgment aims to prevent the misuse of the criminal justice system in matters of consensual sexual conduct where one party is married.
