Physical intimacy cannot be branded as rape merely because relationship soured: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court in India has ruled that physical intimacy cannot be classified as rape solely based on the end of a relationship, emphasizing that criminal law should not be used to settle personal scores or coerce individuals into acting in a certain way. The ruling came in a case involving a man accused of rape and cheating for misleading his then-partner, who was a divorcee, into believing they were in a marital relationship.

The man, married with two children, lived with the woman from 1996 to 2003, allegedly after a temple wedding. The woman alleged that he deceived her by claiming to be a bachelor, leading her to consent to a physical relationship. Despite registering an FIR against him, the man sought relief from the Kerala High Court, but failed.

He then moved to the Supreme Court, which found that there were no "ingredients" for the charges against him. The bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan stated that the allegations against the appellant were not within the scope of the alleged provisions. The court noted that the woman was made aware of the appellant's pre-existing marriage within a few months of cohabiting with him.

It was concluded that the relationship was consensual and that the mere fact of the relationship turning sour could not automatically convert earlier instances of consent into rape charges. The court emphasized that rape must be reserved for situations involving real sexual violence, coercion, or manipulation of consent. It warned against the trend of retrospectively treating consensual relationships as non-consensual to avoid stigma or societal judgment, as such actions could dilute the gravity of the offense and subject the accused to unjust stigma and harassment.