The Bombay High Court has given judgment as per which a promise to marry by a man to a woman cannot be considered as an inducement in every case of rape. The verdict came in a case in which a 21-yr boy was given pre-arrest bail by the court after his girlfriend filed a case of rape against him subsequent to their break-up.
Judge Mridula Bhatkar very clearly stated that an educated girl should take responsibility of her decision of getting into pre-marital intimacy. In the words of Mridula Bhatkar,
“In the event of consent obtained by fraud, inducement is a necessary ingredient. There should be some material on record to believe prima facie that the girl was induced to such an extent that she was ready to have s*xual intercourse. Promise to marry cannot be said to be an inducement in these types of cases.”
The judge also showed concerns towards the changing society and how high morals needed to be followed by the people. She said,
“Since generations, there is a moral taboo that it is the responsibility of a woman to be a virgin at the time of marriage. However, today, the young generation is exposed to different interactions with each other and is well informed about s*xual activities. Society is trying to be liberated but carries baggage of different notions of morality wherein s*x before marriage is a matter of censure. Under such circumstances, a woman who is in love with a boy forgets that to have s*x is her option like her counterpart’s but refuses to take responsibility for her decision.”
The bench also talked about increasing number of cases of rapes which are filed after the relationship between the couple ends and emphasized that the court should also focus on the liberty with the life of the accused while it should also keep in mind what the girl is going through.
It also talked about its previous order in which it was stated that a major and educated lady should know the results of pre-marital intimate relationship.
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