The Kerala High Court on Friday held that sexual activity between two consenting adults doesn’t point out rape and shall not be lined below Section 376 of the IPC. If the consent was taken by fraudulent means or by pressure, solely then can the offence of rape could be constituted, the HC noticed.
The HC was listening to petitioner Navaneeth N Nath, a 29-year-old advocate who was arrested below Sections 376(2)(n) and 313 of IPC on June 23 after a grievance was filed in opposition to him for allegedly raping a girl lawyer a number of occasions for 4 years below the pretext of getting married to her, however as a substitute, married another person.
Granting bail to Nath, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas mentioned, “Even if a sexual relationship between two willing partners does not culminate in marriage, still the same will not amount to rape, in the absence of any factor that vitiates the consent for sex. A subsequent refusal to marry or a failure to lead the relationship into a marriage are not factors that are sufficient to constitute rape even if the partners had indulged in a physical relationship.”
The court docket additional noticed that indulging in intercourse with out somebody’s consent or will or by means of pressure will quantity to rape. Regarding whether or not refusal to marry after intercourse constitutes rape, the court docket additional clarified that “only when the promise was given in bad faith or is vitiated by fraud or was not intended to be adhered to at the time of making it”.
“In order to transform a bodily relationship between a person and a girl into rape as a result of failure to abide by the promise of marriage, it’s important that the choice of the lady to have interaction within the sexual act should be based mostly on the promise of marriage. To set up a false promise, the maker of the promise ought to have had no intention to uphold his phrase on the time of constructing it and the mentioned promise ought to have induced the lady to submit herself to the bodily relationship. There should be a direct nexus between the bodily union and the promise of marriage,’’ mentioned the decide.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”