Srinagar, The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed a rape case against a man after finding that the complainant had remained in a consensual relationship with him for nearly seven years, and filed the FIR only after the man refused to marry her.
As per details available with news agency JKNS, the FIR had been registered under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). The complaint stated that the petitioner had first raped the prosecutrix in 2011 when she was returning from school and thereafter continued to exploit her sexually for seven years under the false promise of marriage.
A bench of Justice Rajnesh Oswal allowed the petition and quashed the FIR after observing that both parties were adults at the time of the alleged first incident. The prosecutrix, aged over 20 in 2011, had continued a physical relationship with the petitioner voluntarily, without reporting any coercion or filing any complaint during the long period.
The court noted that the FIR was filed only after the petitioner did not agree to the prosecutrix’s demand to send a formal marriage proposal to her parents. “The prosecutrix’s own statement under Section 164-A CrPC reflects that the physical relationship was consensual and continued for six to seven years,” the court observed.
It was further noted that the prosecutrix had visited the police station earlier for other reasons but made no mention of rape or exploitation at that time. “There was no evidence of force, threat or deception at the inception of the relationship,” the court held.
The petitioner, in his plea, argued that the allegations were false and lacked specifics like date, time, and place of the alleged incidents. He also submitted that during June 2011, when the first alleged incident occurred, he was undergoing training with the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and had not taken any leave. He supported his claim with service records and a wedding invitation card.
Finding merit in the petitioner’s arguments, the court ruled that no offence under Sections 376 or 506 RPC was made out. “A consensual relationship between adults that ends due to a failed promise of marriage, without any coercion or deceit at inception, cannot be equated with rape,” the court stated.
Accordingly, FIR No. 38/2018 dated 16.08.2018 registered with Police Station, Panchari, District Udhampur under sections 376 and 506 RPC, was quashed by the High Court, bringing closure to the matter.
