The Supreme Court on Monday observed that a pre-marital physical relationship between a man and a woman who are “total strangers” requires caution, while hearing a bail plea in a rape case arising from an alleged false promise of marriage. The Court indicated that the matter appeared to stem from a consensual relationship and referred the parties to mediation to explore a possible settlement.
A Bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan was considering the bail application of a man accused of establishing physical relations with a woman on the pretext of marriage and later refusing to marry her. The Delhi High Court and the trial court had earlier rejected his plea for bail.
During the hearing, the Bench noted that the parties had met on a matrimonial website in 2022 and had travelled together to Dubai, where they engaged in a physical relationship.
Justice Nagarathna remarked that the relationship appeared to be consensual and questioned the necessity of the woman travelling abroad if she intended to avoid pre-marital intimacy. The Court observed:
“We may be old-fashioned but a boy and girl before marriage are total strangers. They should be circumspect in indulging in physical relationships before marriage.”
The Bench further indicated that such cases, where the relationship is prima facie consensual, may not warrant a full criminal trial leading to conviction and suggested that the dispute could be resolved through mediation.
The Court asked counsel for the accused to consider paying compensation to the complainant and requested both sides to explore the possibility of settlement through mediation. The matter has been posted for further hearing on Wednesday to ascertain the parties’ views.
According to the complaint, the accused allegedly established physical relations with the woman multiple times in Delhi and Dubai on a false promise of marriage. She also alleged that he recorded intimate videos without her consent and threatened to circulate them.
The woman further claimed that she later discovered that the accused was already married and had contracted a second marriage in January 2024.
While rejecting bail, the Delhi High Court had held that the allegations prima facie suggested that the promise of marriage was false from the outset, particularly in view of the accused’s existing marriage and subsequent remarriage.
The Supreme Court has not yet granted bail and has deferred the matter to enable mediation and settlement discussions. The issue of bail will be considered after hearing the parties’ response to the proposed mediation.
