Sex during consensual extramarital affair not rape: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: Flagging a worrying trend of criminalisation of a soured consensual physical relationship, the Supreme Court has said a woman in an extramarital relationship for years cannot level rape charges against the man claiming that he had sex with her on the false promise of marriage.

Quashing a seven-year-old FIR lodged by one Vanita S Jadhav against Mahesh Damu Khare at Kharghar police station in Mumbai, a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh said, "There is a worrying trend that consensual relationships going on for prolonged periods, upon turning sour, have been sought to be criminalised..." SC said a complaint of breach of promise to marry, based on consent for sexual relationship was obtained, must be lodged by the deceived woman with promptitude and not after continuing the physical relationship for years.

The affair between Khare, a married man, and Jadhav, a widow, started in 2008. Jadhav said they had intercourse after the man promised to marry her. Khare's wife had lodged extortion complaints against Jadhav. In March 2017, Jadhav lodged rape complaint against Khare.

SC said, "In a situation where a physical relationship is maintained for a prolonged period knowingly by the woman, it cannot be said with certainty the said physical relationship was purely because of the alleged promise made by Khare to marry her."