Rohit Kumar
NEW DELHI, Feb 16: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed strong reservations over pre-marital physical relationships and also viewed the complaints against consensual relationship unworthy of trial and conviction.
The observations were made by a bench of Justice BV Nagarathana and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan while hearing a bail plea in a case involving allegations of rape and promise of marriage. The man in the case was accused of establishing a physical relationship with a woman after promising to marry her, despite already being married at the time and then having married another woman.
During the hearing Justice Nagarathana remarked caution must be exercised before entering into a physical relationship prior to marriage. “Maybe we are old-fashioned but, before marriage, a boy and a girl are strangers. Whatever may be the thick and thin of their relationship, we fail to understand how they can be in a physical relationship before marriage…” she observed.
“You must be very careful. Nobody should believe anybody before marriage.” The court was told the woman and man met in 2022 via a matrimonial services website. The prosecution alleged the man assured the woman he would marry her and, on that basis, she established a physical relationship that extended to meetings in Dubai.
The prosecution also claimed videos of their sexual interaction had been recorded, without the woman’s consent, and that she was threatened with their circulation. According to the prosecution, the woman later found out the man had been married all along, and had then married a second woman, in Punjab in January 2024.
Justice Nagarathana asked why she had chosen to travel to Dubai before marriage. When the government counsel pointed out the two had met on a matrimonial site and were planning to marry, the judge observed that if the woman was particular about marriage, she should not have traveled prior to it.
“She should not have gone before marriage if she was so strict about it. We will send them to mediation. These are not cases which are to be tried and convicted when there is a consensual relationship,” the bench remarked. The matter has been listed for Wednesday for further hearing.
Comments are closed.