Allowing the bail application of a rape accused after setting aside a lower court order, the Orissa High Court has raised important questions as to whether sexual intercourse on false promise to marry is a “rape” or not and whether rape law should be applied to regulate intimate relationships, especially in cases where women are entering into a relationship by choice.
The case inter alia is about the arrest of a bright young student of Koraput district under rape charges after a 19-year-old Scheduled Tribe (ST) girl lodged a police complaint against him in November 2019. Case records indicated that the boy and the girl of the same village were in a physical relationship for about four years and the girl was impregnated twice during this period.
But the girl lodged the complaint stating that the boy taking advantage of her innocence and under the pretext of promise to marry her established physical relation with her. She was coerced by the boy to terminate her pregnancies with some medicines. Registering a case, police arrested the boy, who is languishing in custody for last six months.
The High Court on Thursday allowed the boy’s bail application with condition that he shall cooperate with the prosecution and shall not threaten the girl.
But in his 12-page order, Justice SK Panigrahi has discussed the rape laws vividly and observed, “A consensual relationship without even any assurance obviously will not attract the offence under Section 376 of the IPC.”
Calling for delving into the issue, Justice Panigrahi has pointed out that questions are often raised as to how these kinds of cases are addressed by the statute and judicial pronouncements. Justice Panigrahi is also equally disturbed over the fact that rape law often fails to capture the plight of socially-disadvantaged and poor victims, who are often lured into sex by men on false promises of marriage.