Patna: Patna high court ruled that a physical relationship for a long period of time between two matured persons, working in the same office, could be consensual and it cannot constitute an offence of rape committed against a female partner on the pretext of false marriage promised by the male counterpart. The court quashed the FIR lodged by a woman constable against her colleague on the accusations of rape allegedly committed by him for seven consecutive years on false promise of marrying with her. A single bench of Justice Sandeep Kumar, while allowing the petition of one Kumar Rishiraj, passed the verdict on Jan 20, which was uploaded on HC website on Jan 22. The complainant was posted as a constable in Rohtas district, where she befriended Rishiraj, a constable in the same town. She lodged a complaint at her new work station in Kaimur district, on March 3, 2023 where admitted to her continued physical relationship with the petitioner Kumar Rishiraj from 2015 onwards. She alleged that Rishiraj continued the relationship on the promise of marrying her which later turned out to be false. The petitioner’s counsels—Hansraj and Devendra Kumar—pleaded that their client had a consensual relationship with the complainant, as she had never complained about use of force or against her consent for seven years. The relationship turned acrimonious when she was transferred to another district. Justice Kumar observed that the physical relationship for so many years cannot be based on the misconceptions of marriage promise, as the complainant was literate and mature working in the police department. The high court held the accusations of rape and cheating made against the petitioner in the FIR as malafide and an abuse of legal procedures and hence quashed the same. Patna: Patna high court ruled that a prolonged physical relationship between two matured persons, working in the same office, can be consensual and cannot constitute an offence of rape committed against a female partner on the pretext of false marriage promised by the male counterpart. The court quashed the FIR lodged by a woman constable against her colleague on the accusations of rape allegedly committed by him for seven consecutive years on false promise of marrying with her. A single bench of Justice Sandeep Kumar, while allowing the petition of one Kumar Rishiraj, passed the verdict on Jan 20, which was uploaded on HC website on Jan 22. The complainant was posted as a constable in Rohtas district, where she befriended Rishiraj, a constable in the same town. She lodged a complaint at her new work station in Kaimur district, on March 3, 2023 where admitted to her continued physical relationship with the petitioner Kumar Rishiraj from 2015 onwards. She alleged that Rishiraj continued the relationship on the promise of marrying her which later turned out to be false. The petitioner’s counsels—Hansraj and Devendra Kumar—pleaded that their client had a consensual relationship with the complainant, as she had never complained about use of force or against her consent for seven years. The relationship turned acrimonious when she was transferred to another district. Justice Kumar observed that the physical relationship for so many years cannot be based on the misconceptions of marriage promise, as the complainant was literate and mature working in the police department. The high court held the accusations of rape and cheating made against the petitioner in the FIR as malafide and an abuse of legal procedures and hence quashed the same.
