The Rajasthan High Court quashed a rape case after the accused married the complainant, citing the “sanctity of marriage.” Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand said criminal proceedings would disturb their married life.
Jodhpur: In an important decision, the Rajasthan High Court has cancelled a rape case against a man after he married the woman who had earlier accused him of sexually assaulting her. The court decided to drop the charges, saying that continuing the criminal case would “destroy the sanctity of marriage.”
Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand gave the judgment, and as reported by legal news, the judge said that the decision was made because of the “peculiarity of the marriage”. He also made it clear that this judgment should not be treated as a general rule for cancelling rape cases where the accused and complainant “reach a compromise”.
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Justice Dhand referred to two earlier judgments by the Supreme Court where rape charges were also dropped after the man married the woman.
While giving his order, Justice Dhand explained,
“Marriage is considered as a sacred union between two individuals – transcending physical, emotional, and spiritual bonds. According to ancient Hindu laws, marriage and its rituals are performed to pursue ‘dharma’ (duty), ‘artha’ (possession), and ‘kama’ (physical desire).”
The court added,
“… marriage is more than a ritual, which cannot be allowed to be destroyed by continuing the criminal proceedings against the petitioner,” explaining that continuing the case would disturb their married life.
This case started when the woman said she had a physical relationship with the man because he had promised to marry her. But when she became pregnant, the man allegedly gave her abortion pills and then stopped contacting her. She then filed a police complaint accusing him of rape.
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However, after some time, the man and the woman got married. Following their marriage, they filed a petition in court to cancel the rape charges.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the Supreme Court also made an important comment in a similar matter. The top court said that just because a romantic relationship ends, it does not always mean that the sexual relationship between the partners was without consent.
The Supreme Court gave this observation while hearing a man’s request to cancel rape charges made by his former fiancée. During the hearing, the woman’s lawyer pointed out that the relationship between the two was an “arranged” one and not a “romantic” one, raising a question about whether there was real “consent“.
The court replied by saying that,
the situation must be examined from both sides and added that it had “no attachment to any one gender”.
The Supreme Court then said that it would hear the man’s request further before making a final decision.
This judgment by the Rajasthan High Court, and the earlier comments by the Supreme Court, are being seen as very important because they touch sensitive issues like marriage, consent, and the criminal justice system.
However, experts believe that each case should be looked at carefully because the facts of every case are different, and marriage should not automatically erase serious criminal allegations like rape.
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