The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday voiced apprehension about the rising incidence of rape cases, particularly those stemming from unfulfilled promises of marriage. The court emphasized that failed romantic relationships or breakups should not typically lead to rape allegations by the women involved.
Justices M.M. Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal made these remarks while addressing a petition from a man seeking to dismiss rape charges filed against him by his former fiancee. During the short hearing, the bench commented, "If you (girl) were so gullible you would not be before us. You were a major. It cannot be that you were hoodwinked to believe that you will get married etc. With due respect, today the concept of morality, virtues is different with younger lot. If we agree with you, then any relation between boy and girl in college etc will become punishable. Suppose they love each other and girl resisted and boy says I will marry you next week and then he does not, so again offence."
The court further noted, "A conservative mindset often comes into play here, with the man being held solely accountable. There are gaps in our system. Sometimes, a woman files multiple cases against her in-laws too."
Senior Advocate Madhavi Divan, representing the complainant, clarified, "This isn’t a case of a romance gone wrong. It wasn’t a romantic relationship at all—it was an arranged engagement. Consent here cannot be considered freely given, and the concept of consent is critical. For her, a broken engagement carries a social stigma. Her consent wasn’t free; she felt pressured to please him out of fear he might not marry her otherwise. It might have been casual sex for him, but it wasn’t for her."
At this, the bench said, "What difference does it make? Tomorrow disregarding whether married or not, marital rape can be alleged. The only fact is that marriage did not happen.”
"We cannot look at it from only one lens. We have no attachment to one gender. I also have a daughter and if she is also in this position I need to look it at a broader perspective,” Justice Sundresh remarked.
The bench slated the case for next hearing and said that they will hear the case in detail then.
