In a ruling on a case where a man was charged with raping a woman under false pretenses of marriage, the Allahabad High Court noted that although the law on sexual offenses is appropriately biased against women, this does not imply that men are always at fault.
In 2020, the accused was charged with a crime. The accused was found guilty solely of inflicting hurt willfully under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the trial court earlier this year acquitted him of all charges of rape.
The complainant was appealing the accused's acquittal in the rape case, and the court was considering their appeal. Additionally, the offender was charged under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. According to the case, the victim filed a complaint at the Prayagraj police station's Colnelganj in 2019, alleging that the accused had a sexual relationship with her and promised marriage, but had later declined to tie the knot. She further asserted that he had made disparaging remarks regarding her caste.
The accused responded to the court by saying that the relationship was consensual and that he had turned down her proposal of marriage after learning that her true caste was not "Yadav," as she had claimed.After taking into account the arguments and evidence presented, the court concluded that although the plaintiff had married a man in 2010, they had separated after just two years of marriage. Furthermore, the complainant's denial of her previous marriage and her admission of ignorance regarding her name in the family registry presented to the trial court were mentioned.
The trial court's acquittal was upheld by the high court, which stated that "it is difficult to adjudicate who is befooling whom” because it can be easily inferred that a woman who is already married and has maintained a physical relationship for a good five years without any objection or hesitation, while also visiting numerous hotels and lodges in Allahabad and Lucknow and enjoying each other's company. It was noted that the complainant was unable to provide clarification on her caste claim in this regard. Given this context, the court determined that the accused had been rightly acquitted by the trial court.
While affirming the acquittal of an accused party in a rape case, the court offered the following observations: “Sexual Offenses”, Chapter XVI, is undoubtedly a women-centric enactment to protect the dignity and honor of a lady and girl, and rightfully so. But while assessing the circumstances, it is not always the case that the male partner is at fault; the burden is upon both of them."
