The Supreme Court has expressed concern about a rising trend of consensual sexual encounters being reframed as sexual assault and asked whether a man does not have the right to end a relationship.
The bench clarified that the termination of a relationship cannot render previously consensual sexual relations criminal.
The judges distinguished between cases where consent was obtained through deceit or falsehood from the very beginning and situations where an individual might simply harbour regret over past consensual sexual encounters after a relationship has concluded. The court also noted that such an approach effectively strips a man of his right to make his own decisions. Can such a decision be termed as deceit or fraud? Clearly not. Noting that it has frequently encountered cases where failed relationships are transformed into criminal prosecutions, the court emphasised that rape is a grave offence, and the charge should be reserved for instances involving actual sexual violence, coercion, or cases where consent was obtained through deception. Converting every broken, consensual relationship into a rape charge undermines the nature and gravity of this serious crime, the judges emphasised. Cases Unreported At the same time, the court acknowledged that a significant number of rape cases still go unreported and that many victims choose to remain silent to protect their own reputation and those of their families.
Acquitting a man accused of rape, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan said society and courts must discourage the weaponisation of criminal law following emotional discord between two consenting adults. “We wish to note a worrying trend in recent years wherein consensual relationships that have come to an end are retrospectively combed with a fine tooth so as to identify what can post-facto be construed as violence and sexual assault,” the bench said. “In fact, such an approach denudes the man of any agency entirely, as the mere factum of being in a consensual relationship at one point would bind him to it entirely for fear of being accused of rape at a subsequent point of time ,” the bench noted, adding, “In such a scenario, can it be said that the man had no right to withdraw from the relationship? “Therefore, in instances where the facts clearly point to sexual violence or assault, such genuine cases must be investigated thoroughly and prosecuted,” the judges stressed.
The bench clarified that the termination of a relationship cannot render previously consensual sexual relations criminal and asserted that doing so could infringe upon an individual’s personal liberty and reputation.
