SC Slams Misuse of Rape Cases, Calls for Sensitivity in Handling Relationships Gone Sour
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In a stern warning, the Supreme Court has flagged the misuse of the criminal justice system in cases where failed relationships are labeled as rape. The top court emphasized that such misuse is not only a concern but also a matter of condemnation.The court, while quashing an FIR in an alleged rape case, stated that trivializing every sour relationship as a crime of rape undermines the seriousness of the offense and inflicts grave injustice on the accused.A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan observed that rape is a grave offense that must be invoked only in genuine cases of sexual violence, coercion, or lack of consent. They noted that physical intimacy within a functioning relationship cannot be retrospectively branded as rape merely because the relationship ended in a failed marriage.The court emphasized that the law must remain sensitive to genuine cases of trust breach and dignity violation. However, it must also rely on credible evidence and concrete facts, rather than unsubstantiated allegations or moral conjecture.In this case, the Supreme Court allowed an appeal filed by a man challenging a Bombay High Court order that dismissed his application to quash an FIR. The FIR was lodged after a woman claimed that the man had established physical relations with her on the false pretext of marriage. However, the court found that the relationship continued for three years, and the woman had initially agreed to marry the man. The court noted that the acts complained of occurred within the contours of a consensual relationship.The bench quashed the FIR and the charge sheet, stating that the continuation of the prosecution in such facts would be an abuse of the court machinery. The court also emphasized the importance of societal context, where marriage holds deep social and cultural significance. It urged the law to remain sensitive to genuine cases of trust breach and dignity violation, while also relying on credible evidence and concrete facts.
