'Be very careful before...': India's top court questions pre-wedding intimacy in bail hearing
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Be very careful before...': India's top court questions pre-wedding intimacy in bail hearing")
Supreme Court of India Photograph: (ANI)
Supreme Court warns against pre-marital physical relationships while hearing bail plea in rape-on-promise case. The matter has been sent to mediation
The Supreme Court on Monday (February 16) made observations about relationships before marriage while considering a bail application in a case involving allegations of rape on the pretext of marriage. A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing the plea of a man accused of engaging in a physical relationship with a woman after allegedly promising to marry her. The prosecution claimed that the accused was already married at the time and subsequently entered into another marriage.
During the proceedings, Justice Nagarathna said that individuals must exercise caution before entering into intimate relationships before marriage. She said that, in her view, a man and woman remain strangers until they are legally married, regardless of how close they may appear. The judge advised that one should not place complete trust in promises made before marriage.
The court was informed that the two had connected in 2022 through a matrimonial website. According to the prosecution, the accused assured the woman of marriage, following which they developed a physical relationship, including trips to Dubai. It was further alleged that intimate videos were recorded without the woman’s consent and that she was later threatened with their circulation.
The prosecution said that the woman eventually discovered the man was already married and had gone on to marry another woman in Punjab in January 2024. Justice Nagarathna questioned the decision to travel abroad before the marriage had taken place. When government counsel explained that the pair had met on a matrimonial platform with the intention of marrying, the bench observed that if the woman was particular about marriage, she ought not to have undertaken such travel beforehand.
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The court suggested that the dispute appeared to arise from a consensual relationship and suggested that such matters may not warrant a full criminal trial. The bench proposed referring the parties to mediation. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on Wednesday (February 18).
