The Jharkhand High Court has acquitted a man convicted of rape after finding that the evidence on record indicated a long-standing consensual relationship between the parties spanning nearly five years. The Court also took note of the medical evidence, which recorded that the prosecutrix was “habituated to sexual intercourse,” while clarifying that this observation was only one of several circumstances considered and not, by itself, determinative of the case.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Subhash Chand, who set aside the trial court’s conviction after concluding that the prosecution had failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the physical relationship between the parties was without the woman’s consent.
According to the prosecution, the accused had repeatedly established physical relations with the complainant on the promise of marriage before ultimately refusing to marry her. Based on these allegations, he was prosecuted and convicted by the trial court for the offence of rape.
However, upon examining the evidence, the High Court found that the parties had remained in a relationship for nearly five years and that there was nothing on record to indicate that the sexual relationship was forced or non-consensual during this period. The Court observed that the prolonged relationship and the conduct of the parties suggested that the physical intimacy was consensual.
Justice Subhash Chand also considered the medical examination report, which noted that the prosecutrix was “habituated to sexual intercourse.” The Court, however, did not treat this finding as conclusive proof against the allegation of rape, but viewed it as one of the circumstances to be assessed alongside the overall evidence.
The High Court reiterated the settled legal position that a consensual physical relationship between adults does not automatically become rape merely because the relationship later ends or the parties do not marry. It observed that every breach of a promise to marry cannot be treated as a false promise from the inception. To attract the offence of rape on the ground of a false promise of marriage, the prosecution must establish that the promise was never intended to be fulfilled and was made only to obtain consent for sexual relations.
After evaluating the testimony of the prosecutrix, the surrounding circumstances and the documentary evidence, the Court found that the prosecution had failed to prove that the accused had obtained consent through deception or that the promise of marriage was false from the very beginning.
Holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt, Justice Subhash Chand allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction and acquitted the appellant of the offence.
The judgment reiterates the distinction between a consensual relationship that subsequently breaks down and a case where consent is vitiated by a fraudulent promise of marriage, emphasising that criminal liability for rape can arise only where the prosecution establishes deception at the inception of the relationship.
The post Jharkhand High Court acquits man in rape case,cites five-year consensual relationship appeared first on India Legal.