‘Can a Man Not Withdraw From a Relationship?’: SC on Rape Cases After Breakups
SC rules consensual intimacy during a relationship must not be treated as rape post-breakup; warns against abusing criminal law over emotional discord.
The Supreme Court has held that sexual intimacy during a consensual relationship cannot be treated as rape later simply because of the relationship fallout between two consenting adults. A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan discharged a Kerala-based man facing allegations of rape, cheating, and marrying again while his first marriage was subsisting.
What the Court Said
The Court said criminal law should not be used as a weapon after emotional discord between two consenting adults. It held that physical intimacy during a functioning relationship cannot be retrospectively branded rape merely because the relationship later soured.
"In such cases, physical intimacy that occurred during the currency of a functioning relationship cannot be retrospectively branded as acts of rape merely because the relationship soured and no longer subsists," it noted.
The Bench observed a worrying trend of consensual relationships being re-examined after their end to identify conduct that can later be framed as sexual assault. It said courts must distinguish between consent vitiated by deceit at the outset and regret over past consensual acts after a relationship ends.
"This is not merely a matter of personal dispute. The abuse of the criminal justice process in such cases is a matter of serious concern and must be condemned. Hence, courts would have to view the entire relationship holistically rather than from the perspective of its end."
Consent Versus Regret
The Court said that while regret after a breakup may be unfortunate, hindsight alone cannot convert a consensual relationship into a crime or justify criminal proceedings that affect a person’s liberty and reputation.
"There is thus a need to distinguish between an absence of consent in its entirety because of it having been built entirely on a mirage of deceit and falsehood at the outset on the one hand from the experiencing of regret over having consented to past sexual acts, owing to the later demise of the relationship," it said.
Caution
The bench stressed that rape allegations must be reserved for cases involving genuine sexual violence, coercion, or manipulation of consent. It said converting every failed relationship into a rape case dilutes the gravity of the offence and can cause irreparable stigma and injustice to the accused.
"Rape, being a heinous offence, must be reserved for situations where there is real sexual violence, coercion, or manipulation of consent. When every consensual relationship which sours is converted into an accusation of rape, it not only dilutes the gravity of the offence alleged or rather negates the very allegation of crime," it further added.
"For every case where the provisions related to rape are misused, there are several cases that never see the light of day,” said the court, adding, "But equally, the justice system must not be turned into a tool of vengeance when relationships fail”.
The bench added that, "It is unfortunate that despite judicial deprecation, this trend is increasing, and it is a matter of concern for the courts as often settlement of disputes comes with huge monetary considerations to be borne by the male accused."
The prosecution alleged that the man concealed his prior marriage, married the woman at Mysuru, and induced her to believe theirs was a lawful marriage. She alleged that this induced her consent to sexual relations and amounted to rape, cheating, and breach of trust.
The woman, previously divorced, alleged that the two cohabited from 1996 to 2003. The Supreme Court found that the ingredients of rape, cheating, and deceit were not made out and discharged the man, setting aside the Kerala High Court’s refusal to discharge him or quash the proceedings.
The case involved provisions of the Indian Penal Code concerning rape, cheating, and marriage-related deception. The official text is available on India Code:
- Section 375, IPC - Rape
- Section 376, IPC - Punishment for rape
- Section 415, IPC - Cheating
- Section 493, IPC - Cohabitation caused by deceitful inducement of lawful marriage