The Supreme Court observed that a boy and girl before marriage are “total strangers” and advised caution while engaging in pre-marital physical relationships. The remarks came during a bail hearing in a false promise of marriage rape case, where the Court also suggested mediation.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday made strong observations while hearing a bail plea filed by a man accused of rape on the false promise of marriage. The Court remarked that a boy and a girl before marriage are “total strangers” and advised caution in pre-marital physical relationships.
A Bench of Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing the bail application of the accused man. During the hearing, the judges questioned the woman’s decision to travel to Dubai, where the alleged physical relationship took place.
The Bench observed,
“It’s consensual. We may be old-fashioned but a boy and girl before marriage are total strangers. They should be circumspect in indulging in physical relationships before marriage,”
the bench observed.
The Court further said,
“Whatever may be the thick and thin of their relationship, we fail to understand how they can be indulging in physical relationship before marriage. Maybe we are old- fashioned but you must be very careful, nobody should believe anybody before marriage,”
Justice Nagarathna said.
According to the woman’s counsel, the two met on a matrimonial website in 2022. The accused allegedly established physical relations with her several times in Delhi and later in Dubai, on the false promise of marriage. The complaint also states that during the Dubai visit, the man recorded intimate videos without her consent and threatened to circulate them if she resisted.
Justice Nagarathna questioned the need for the woman to travel abroad and said that the case appeared to involve a consensual relationship.
“She should not have gone before marriage if she was so strict about it. We will send them to mediation. These are not cases which are to be tried and convicted when there is consensual relationship,”
she said.
The Bench also suggested a possible settlement and asked the counsel for the man to consider compensating the woman. Justice Nagarathna asked the counsel for the man to pay some compensation to her and be done with it. The Court directed the woman’s lawyer to explore the possibility of settlement between the parties and posted the matter for further hearing on Wednesday to know their views.
In her complaint, the woman stated that she later discovered that the accused had married another woman in January 2024 in Punjab. She alleged that the promise of marriage was false from the beginning and that she was misled into the relationship.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court and the trial court had rejected the man’s bail application. The High Court observed that the allegations prima facie showed that the promise of marriage was false from the beginning, especially since the accused was already married and had again married on January 19, 2024.
After the High Court refused bail, the accused approached the Supreme Court of India seeking relief.
The matter is now likely to focus on whether the relationship was consensual or based on deception, and whether the alleged false promise of marriage can amount to rape under criminal law. The Supreme Court’s observations during the hearing have once again brought attention to the legal complexities surrounding consent, pre-marital relationships, and allegations of false promise of marriage in India.
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