Daijiworld Media Network - Kochi

Kochi, Nov 18: The Kerala High Court has established that the dissolution of a relationship or subsequent marriage to a third party does not automatically transform a past sexual relationship, which was originally consensual, into a case of rape.

Justice G. Girish clarified that if a man later marries another person in pursuit of "greener pastures," it doesn't mean his previous consensual intimacy becomes rape under the law. The Court was addressing a petition from a man accused of rape (Section 376 IPC), cohabitation by deceit (Section 493 IPC), and fraudulent marriage (Section 496 IPC). The man was alleged to have maintained a long-term relationship with the complainant, promising to marry her, but then married someone else. The relationship began in 2009 while the complainant was married; after her husband's death in 2013, the accused started living with her. The complainant believed they were married following a private, symbolic ceremony. However, the accused legally married another woman in 2014, and the relationship with the complainant ended in 2017, leading to the criminal complaint.

The High Court found that the relationship was clearly consensual and was not induced by a fraudulent promise of marriage. To constitute rape based on a false promise, the court noted that it must be proven that the man never intended to marry the woman from the beginning and only made promises for the sole purpose of sexual exploitation. Consensual intimacy based on emotional involvement or future intentions, according to the Court, does not amount to rape unless deception is proven from the outset, citing Supreme Court judgments. Furthermore, the relationship starting while the complainant was legally married undermined her claim of being misled into believing she would be lawfully married to the accused. Regarding the charges under Sections 493 and 496 IPC, the court clarified that these offences could not proceed as the aggrieved person had not filed a formal complaint. Consequently, the court quashed all criminal proceedings against the man.