India
Supreme Court Clarifies Consent Cannot Be Retroactively Recast as Rape After Relationship Ends
By PTI
In a ruling delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court of India clarified that physical intimacy that occurred during a consensual relationship cannot later be labeled as rape simply because the relationship has ended. A bench of Justices B. V. Nagarathna and R. Mahdevan, which had previously discharged a Kerala resident from rape and cheating charges, emphasized the need to distinguish between cases where consent is void from the outset—obtained through deception or fraud—and situations where a person later regrets past consensual acts after a relationship dissolves.
The court stated that "physical intimacy that occurred during the currency of a functioning relationship cannot be retrospectively branded as an act of rape merely because the relationship soured and no longer subsists." It warned that treating such hindsight reflections as criminal would deprive the accused of liberty and reputation, and would unfairly bind a person to a past consensual relationship.
The bench noted a disturbing trend of converting failed relationships into criminal cases and cautioned that the charge of rape, a heinous offence, should be reserved for situations involving real sexual violence, coercion or manipulation of consent. "When every consensual relationship which sours is converted into an accusation of rape it dilutes the gravity of the offence alleged," the court said.
The ruling comes in the case of Santosh Kumar N P, who has challenged the Kerala High Court’s dismissal of his discharge petition and a plea to quash proceedings against him. The prosecution alleges that the accused concealed an earlier marriage, entered into a second marriage with the victim, and engaged in sexual intercourse based on consent obtained through an "illegal marriage" by means of fraud. The victim, who had been divorced from a previous marriage, alleges rape, cheating and breach of trust. According to her, the couple cohabited from 1996 to 2003 after marrying in Mysore.
The article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Frequently asked questions
What did the Supreme Court decide about consent after a relationship ends?
The Court clarified that physical intimacy during a consensual relationship cannot later be labeled as rape simply because the relationship has ended.
Which justices delivered the ruling?
The ruling was delivered by Justices B. V. Nagarathna and R. Mahdevan.