Courts should exercise caution when dealing with rape charges in consensual relationship: Kerala HC
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Refusing bail blindly in such cases, without considering the surrounding circumstances, can lead to injustice and irreparably damage a young person's life.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas made these observations while allowing a petition filed by a 27-year-old man from Malappuram seeking pre-arrest bail in a rape case. The allegation against the petitioner was that he had raped a 23-year-old married woman from Thiruvananthapuram, who is also a medical student, in a hotel room near Thamarassery in 2024.
The complainant, who currently lives separately from her husband, became acquainted with the petitioner through Instagram, and their relationship continued through a messaging platform. Under the pretext of returning home for study leave, she boarded a train to Kozhikode on Nov 3, 2024, where the petitioner picked her up. Together, they travelled to Wayanad. Enroute, they checked into a hotel near Thamarassery and spent the night there.
The following day, they travelled to Tirur and stayed at another hotel. On Nov 5, 2024, she returned to Thiruvananthapuram. The complaint was filed on April 4, 2025, which the petitioner claimed was due to a breakdown in their relationship.
Upon reviewing the case records, the bench noted that the complainant had gone to meet the petitioner of her own volition and had willingly stayed with him in two different hotels.
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There was nothing prima facie to suggest rape, except for a bare allegation that the petitioner had engaged in a forceful sexual relationship with her. The court observed that when a married woman voluntarily travels from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode and stays with the petitioner in different lodges over two nights, it cannot be assumed that the physical relationship between them lacked consent.
A consensual relationship turning sour at a later stage cannot be a valid ground to allege rape.
HC also pointed out that there could be no claim of consent obtained under a false promise of marriage, as the complainant remains in a subsisting marriage.
HC emphasized that rape is a heinous crime, and such an allegation, once made, can severely affect a young person's life. The stigma of such an accusation may persist even after an acquittal. If the accused is arrested and remanded before being found guilty, the damage may be irreversible. Therefore, courts must exercise caution in such cases.
Allowing the bail petition, HC held that courts cannot remain unmindful of the changing social milieu when considering bail applications filed by young individuals accused of rape following a consensual relationship.
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