Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi: The Allahabad High Court has delivered a significant ruling on a case involving love, society, and physical relations. The court held that if a woman is aware from the outset that marriage with a man is not possible due to social reasons, yet chooses to maintain a physical relationship with him, such an act cannot be categorised as rape. The judgment clarified that consensual relations arising from a love affair do not fall within the ambit of rape.
Case from Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh
The case pertains to a woman employed as an accountant in Mahoba district, Uttar Pradesh. She accused a male colleague of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2019, later allegedly blackmailing her with a video. She further claimed that the man continued a relationship with her on the promise of marriage, only to later refuse to wed.
Court Rejects Plea, Cites Mutual Awareness
When police did not take action, the woman approached a special SC/ST court, which also declined to proceed. She then filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court. After prolonged hearings, Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal dismissed the petition, observing that consensual relations cannot be treated as rape merely because marriage did not occur. The court noted that both parties were aware from the beginning that marriage was socially impossible.
