Supreme Court raises concern over 'worrying trend' of criminalising long term consensual relationships upon turning sour

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday raised concern over a "worrying trend", where consensual relationships going on for prolonged periods, upon turning sour have been sought to be criminalised by invoking criminal jurisprudence.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh quashed an FIR lodged against a man for alleged offences of rape and cheating, after noting that the relationship continued for nine long years in the case.

“In our view if criminality is to be attached to such prolonged physical relationship at a very belated stage, it can lead to serious consequences,” the bench said.

The bench felt it was evident from the large number of cases decided by this court dealing with similar matters that there is a worrying trend that consensual relationships going on for prolonged periods, upon turning sour, have been sought to be criminalised by invoking criminal jurisprudence.

The bench said the longer the duration of the physical relationship between the partners without protest and insistence by the female partner for marriage would be indicative of a consensual relationship rather than a relationship based on false promise of marriage by the male partner and thus, based on misconception of fact.

The bench said even if it is assumed that a false promise of marriage was made to the complainant initially by the appellant, even though no such cogent evidence has been brought on record, the fact that the relationship continued for nine long years, would render the plea of the complainant that her consent for all these years was under misconception of fact that the appellant would marry her implausible.

“The criminal liability attached to such false promises would be diluted after such a long passage of time and in light of the fact that no protest was registered by the complainant during all those years. Such a prolonged continuation of physical relationship without demurral or remonstration by the female partner, in effect takes out the sting of criminal culpability and neutralises it,” the bench said.

The man here assailed the Bombay High Court's order in 2018, which dismissed his plea for quashing of an FIR lodged against him at Navi Mumbai. The complainant alleged that the man had repeatedly exploited her sexually on pretext of a false promise of marriage.

The bench said it will be very difficult to assume that the complainant who is otherwise a mature person with two grown up children, was unable to discover the deceitful behaviour of the appellant who continued to have sexual relationship with her for such a long period on the promise of marriage. “Any such mendacious act of the appellant would have been exposed sooner without having to wait for nine years,” the bench said.

The court felt it appeared that discontinuance of financial support to the complainant, rather than the alleged resiling from the promise to marry by the appellant appeared to be the triggering point for making the allegation by the complainant after a long consensual relationship for about nine years.

The court quashed the case, saying allowing the criminal proceeding against the appellant in the facts and circumstances to continue, where no criminal liability can be attached, would amount to abuse of the process of court.