Nainital: Cases of sexual exploitation of women in the name of marriage have been continuously coming to the fore. Many times such a situation comes in front of women, when a man is booked for rape after a breach of promise in a relationship made on the promise of marriage.
Regarding such cases, the Nainital High Court clearly said that the relationship between a man and a woman on the pretext of marriage does not come under the category of rape. Meaning, if a physical relationship is being formed between the two by mutual consent, or during this time there is no coercion, then it cannot be kept in the category of rape if the marriage is retracted after that.
On this basis, the court quashed the FIR filed against the person concerned in the charge of rape and the charge sheet given by the police. In fact, on behalf of a woman of Champawat, a case was registered against an advocate for physical abuse and not marrying on the promise of marriage. The woman said that the accused had promised to marry her, stating that he was a divorcee. The woman alleged that she became pregnant after consensual relations, but due to the lack of marriage, she got an abortion.
According to the allegation, the advocate later refused to marry, on which the woman lodged an FIR against him. The matter was heard before Justice Sharad Sharma in the Nainital High Court. The counsel for the petitioner argued that there was no coercion or any such coercion in the relationship between the two, so that the matter could be registered under section 376.
It is a matter of mutual consent and not of forced relationship. In this regard, the Supreme Court’s decision of the year 2021 was also cited, in which, while explaining in detail such cases, clarifying the difference between consensual and forced relationships, such relationships are not considered under the category of rape. After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the High Court has ordered to quash the FIR lodged and the related charge sheet.
