Rape can not be alleged only because relationship between two persons did not lead to marriage: HC
Mumbai, Apr 4: When two mature persons have had a relationship, one of them can not allege rape later when the relations turn sour or do not culminate in marriage, the Bombay High Court has said.
Justice Bharati Dangre passed the ruling on March 29 while discharging a man from a case of rape lodged against him by a woman at the suburban Versova police station in 2016.
The judgement became available this week.
"Two matured persons coming together and investing in a relationship, one cannot be blamed only because the other complained of the act at some point of time when the relationship did not go well and for whatever reason need not ultimately culminate into a marriage," the court said.
The 26-year-old woman had claimed in her complaint that she met the man through social media, and he had a physical relationship with her by making false promises of marriage.
The man subsequently moved the court seeking to be discharged from the case, pleading innocence.
The judge, while granting his plea, noted that he and the woman were in a relationship for eight years.
"Admittedly, the prosecutrix (the complainant) was major at the time when the relationship was established, both emotionally and physically. She was at the age where she is presumed to have sufficient maturity of understanding the consequences of her act and according to her own version, on some occasions, the relationship was consensual, but some times it was forcible," HC said.
The relationship had continued for "a considerable length of time" and this fact does not lead to the conclusion that "on every occasion, only on the promise of marriage the sexual relationship was established," it added.
Further, Justice Dangre noted that merely because the relationship had turned sour it cannot be inferred that the physical relationship on every occasion was against her will.
As per her own version, she consented to physical relationship not only because of the promise of marriage but also because she was in love with him, the judgement said.
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Woman throws 18-month-old daughter in drain in Faridabad: Police
Faridabad (PTI): A woman allegedly killed her 18-month-old child - her sixth daughter - by throwing her into a drain in Faridabad, claiming she committed the crime as she was unable to take care of her family due to poverty, according to police.
The incident occurred near Dheeraj Nagar on April 23 when the girl's body was found stuck in an iron mesh along a drain by two school children, the police said on Sunday, adding the body was retrieved and sent for a postmortem.
A Crime Branch team, which was probing the case, found CCTV footage showing the girl's mother carrying her in her arms in the area. She then returned alone. The police took the woman into custody, and during questioning, she confessed to throwing the girl into the drain, they said.
The infant died of drowning.
The accused was identified as Neelam, a native of Madhubani in Bihar. She lived in Faridabad with her husband Sanjay, who works in a private firm, the police said.
A senior investigating officer said that during interrogation, the woman said that the deceased was the youngest of her six daughters and that she was driven to commit the crime due to poverty.
"She revealed that her family's financial situation was extremely poor, and with six daughters, she was unable to raise them properly," the officer said.
Police spokesperson Yashpal said they are investigating the matter and the entire picture will be clear soon.
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