NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ruled that a married woman cannot accuse a man of rape on the grounds of a false promise of marriage while her own marriage is still legally valid. The court quashed a rape case filed by a woman against a 23-year-old man in Maharashtra.
The case involved a Muslim woman, mother of a four-year-old, who was living with her parents in Satara. She entered into a relationship with her neighbor, a BSc student, and alleged in her police complaint that he repeatedly promised to marry her and maintained a physical relationship with her from June 2022 to July 2023. She obtained a khulanama (divorce) from her husband only on December 29, 2022.
After her complaint, the man sought to have the FIR quashed in the High Court, which rejected his plea. He then approached the Supreme Court.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish C. Sharma found inconsistencies in the woman’s version of events. “The complainant claimed lack of consent, yet she maintained the relationship for over a year and even visited lodges with the man,” the court observed.
Justice Sharma, writing the judgment, said: “It is inconceivable that she entered a physical relationship based on a promise of marriage while still legally married. Such a promise is neither lawful nor enforceable.”
The court noted that the complaint appeared to stem from a fallout after the man returned to his hometown, Ahmednagar, and the woman visited him, leading to a confrontation with his family.
In dismissing the case, the court concluded: “There is no reasonable basis to believe that a married woman with a young child was continuously deceived or maintained a long-term relationship with someone who sexually assaulted her. A consensual relationship that ends bitterly cannot be criminalized.”
