One-liner: The SC has quashed the rape charges levelled by a woman against a man, saying she had a consensual relationship with him.
HC order challenged: A bench passed the verdict on the plea by the man who challenged the Allahabad HC order refusing to quash the charges and the charge sheet filed against him.
What the bench said: The bench said taking the allegations in the complaint as they stand, it is impossible to find in the FIR or the charge sheet, the essential ingredients of an offence under Section 376 IPC (rape).
Marriage promise: Justice Chandrachud, in his verdict, said that the crucial issue which was to be considered is whether the allegations indicate that the appellant (man against whom rape charges were levelled) had given a promise to the woman to marry.
Ingredients of offence: "Taking the allegations in the FIR, the crucial ingredients of the offence under Section 375 IPC are absent. The relationship between the parties was purely of a consensual nature," the bench said.
Woman's statement: The bench noted that the woman in her statement recorded before the magistrate had accepted that both had known each other since 2013 and subsequently got into a relationship.
Relationship continued: The bench said she had admitted that on June 12, 2014, the marriage of the second respondent was solemnized with someone else in spite of which the relationship with the appellant continued.
Second respondent: The second respondent stated that the appellant had compelled her to break away from the marriage and her matrimonial relationship had come to an end in March 2015, barely three months after she stayed in the matrimonial home.
Bottom line: The bench noted that the woman has stated that she thereafter returned to the parental home and then started living with the appellant.
Source: PTI