New Delhi: In line with its previous judgments on the issue, the Supreme Court has held that rape charges cannot be invoked in cases of consensual sex between live-in partners if the man fails to marry due to circumstances beyond control. The court said these cases could likely be termed as a case of breach of promise to marry rather than one of false promise, Times of India reported.
The top court gave the order while quashing an FIR lodged by a Maharashtra-based nurse against a doctor, who were in a live-in relationship. She alleged in her complaint that she indulged in physical relationship with the doctor as he promised to marry her.
A bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and S. Abdul Nazeer said in a recent verdict “there is a clear distinction between rape and consensual sex,” adding that if “the accused has not made the promise [of marriage] with the sole intention to seduce the prosecutrix (woman) to indulge in sexual acts, such an act would not amount to rape”.
“The acknowledged consensual physical relationship between the parties would not constitute an offence under section 376 (rape) of the IPC,” the bench said.
Referring to the facts of the case, the court said they were living together for quite some time and when the woman came to know that the man had married someone else, she lodged the complaint.
“We are of the view that, even if the allegations made in the complaint are taken at their face value and accepted in their entirety, they do not make out a case against the appellant (doctor),” the bench said.
The man had approached the top court against the verdict of the Bombay high court which had dismissed his plea seeking quashing of the FIR lodged against him.
In multiple cases previously, the Supreme Court has given similar judgments.
(With PTI inputs)