The Allahabad High Court (HC) ruled on Saturday that a long-term consensual relationship between two adults cannot be categorised as rape, solely because a promise of marriage failed to materialise. While delivering the landmark judgment, the court quashed the entire criminal proceedings pending against a man facing charges of rape, observing that the relationship in question was consensual and had continued for five years.

Justice Vivek Kumar Singh passed the order, while allowing a petition filed by Sanjay Saroj, who had been seeking the quashing of criminal proceedings initiated against him.

Court finds no prima facie case of rape

The court, after examining the facts, evidence and submission made by both the parties, concluded that no prima facie offence of rape was made out. In its 34-page judgment, the court observed that the complainant had willingly consented to the physical relationship. It noted that if consent had been freely given, the accused could not be held guilty of rape merely because the relationship came to an end later.

The court further remarked that the First Information Report (FIR) appeared to have been lodged after the complainant became dissatisfied with the conduct of the accused, rather than because of any criminal act constituting rape.

Details of the case

The case stems from an FIR registered in 2019 at Colonelganj Police Station in Prayagraj under Sections 376, 323, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complaint mentioned that the woman, a resident of Pratapgarh, had moved to Prayagraj in 2014 to prepare for competitive exams. The accused, who was a distant relative, reportedly assisted her with accommodation and studies. Over time, the two moved into a close relationship.

The complainant alleged that the accused established physical relations with her on the pretext of marriage and later reneged on the same. She further claimed that he assaulted and threatened her whenever she asked him to marry her.

During the probe, she also alleged that the accused had recorded an explicit video of her to blackmail her. However, medical examination reports did not reveal any injury marks.

Allahabad HC cites SC precedents

Relying on Supreme Court (SC) judgments, including those in Pramod Suryabhan Pawar, Ravish Singh Rana and Deepak Gulati, the HC reiterated that a rape charge based on a promise of marriage can be sustained only when it is established that the promise was false from the very beginning and was made solely to obtain consent.