The court said that the burden of proof in such cases lies on the complainant and the accused.
Acquitting a man accused of raping a woman on the pretext of marriage, the Allahabad High Court held that the law on sexual offences is rightly women-centric but that does not mean that the male partner is always wrong.
Delivering the judgment, a division bench comprising Justices Rahul Chaturvedi and Justice Nand Prabha Shukla also said the burden of proof in such cases lies on the complainant and the accused.
"No doubt, chapter XVI (on) 'sexual offences' is a women-centric enactment to protect the dignity and honour of a lady and girl and rightly so, but while assessing the circumstances, it is not the only and every time the male partner is at wrong, the burden is upon both of them," the court observed.
The court was hearing the complainant's appeal against the acquittal of the accused in the rape case. The accused had also been charge-sheeted under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989.
In 2019, the woman lodged a police complaint in Prayagraj alleging that the accused established a sexual relationship with her on the promise of marriage but later refused to marry her. She also claimed that he had spoken about her caste in a derogatory manner.
After investigation, the accused was charge-sheeted in 2020.
The trial court, Prayagraj on February 8, 2024, acquitted the accused of the charge of rape and convicted him only under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complainant then approached the high court.
In his response, the accused told the court that the said relationship was consensual and he had declined to marry the woman after coming to know that she did not belong to the 'Yadav' caste as claimed by her.
Considering the contentions and material on record, the court found that the complainant had married a man in 2010 but she started living separately after two years. It also noted that the complainant had hidden the fact that she was already married.
Upholding the acquittal given by the trial court, the high court said, "It can be easily inferred that a lady who is already married and without dissolution of her earlier marriage and concealing her caste has maintained the physical relationship for good five years without any objection and hesitation."
"Both of them have visited a number of hotels and lodges in Allahabad and Lucknow and enjoyed the company of each other. It is difficult to adjudicate who is befooling whom," it said.
In this regard, it was observed that the complainant was unable to clarify the claim regarding her caste.
Against this backdrop, the court concluded that the trial court had rightly acquitted the accused as the victim's claims of being subjected to sexual harassment and rape cannot be accepted.
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