Consensual Affair Gone Sour Not Rape, Supreme Court Reiterates

The Supreme Court on Monday quashed rape and related charges against a 25-year-old agriculture student, underlining that “a consensual relationship turning sour or partners becoming distant cannot be a ground for invoking criminal machinery of the State.”

A Division Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma delivered the judgment while allowing the appeal of Amol Bhagwan Nehul against a Bombay High Court order that had refused to quash a criminal case registered against him under Sections 376, 376(2)(n), 377, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.

The complainant, a previously married woman residing with her child, alleged that Nehul engaged in sexual relations with her on the false pretext of marriage. She accused him of coercing her into physical intimacy on multiple occasions across 2022 and 2023, citing specific incidents at her residence, restaurants, and hotels.

However, the Top Court found that even if the allegations in the FIR were taken at face value, the prolonged and voluntary nature of the relationship, including repeated meetings and shared outings over a year, did not support claims of coercion or deception. “The narrative of the complainant does not corroborate with her conduct,” the court observed.

The court cautioned: “Such conduct not only burdens the Courts, but blots the identity of an individual accused of such a heinous offence. This Court has time and again warned against the misuse of the provisions, and has termed it a folly to treat each breach of promise to marry as a false promise and prosecute a person for an offence under section 376 IPC.”

The bench emphasised that prosecuting consensual relationships under the guise of failed marital promises dilutes the gravity of actual sexual offences and risks misusing the criminal process. It further noted that the complainant had not only continued the relationship while still legally married but also lacked any substantiating evidence of threats or force, which are essential to sustain charges under Section 376.

Finding the allegations improbable and the prosecution to be a potential abuse of process, the court invoked the principles laid down in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal to justify quashing the proceedings. It also considered Nehul’s young age and the potential long-term harm an unjust criminal trial could inflict.

The appeal was allowed, the Bombay High Court’s order was set aside, and all proceedings stemming from the FIR lodged in July 2023 were quashed. Any bail bonds furnished were also directed to be cancelled.

Case Title: Amol Bhagwan Nehul v. State of Maharashtra and Anr.