Live in partner acquitted of rape charges
July 10, 2017“The accused and the complaint were in a live-in relationship, despite being married. Under these circumstances it cannot be said that their physical relations were under misconception of fact or on the false promise of marriage. They out of their free will and choice developed the physical relationship and her consent for physical relations was an act of her conscious decisions, observed the Delhi High Court while acquitting a man who was accused of rape charges.
In the present matter the accused was a cousin of the complainant's husband.Though they were married but they started living together without getting divorced. They have been living together for years. On February 10, 2014, the woman filed a rape case against him for exploiting her on the false pretext of marrying her.
The court observed, “They, since the beginning, knew that they had not taken divorce from their spouses and their marriage was not possible. They were in live-in relationship from a very long time. During that they made physical relationship.
In her claim the prosecution asserted, that the woman got married in 1999 and she had her first child in 2000 following which she was abandoned by her husband. Later, she shifted to Delhi with the accused who found her a job and soon after that they developed physical relation with each other.
The court rejected the contentions forwarded by the prosecution and relied on the fact they both knew they were already married and not divorced. They are not naive individuals. They got into a physical relationship by their own choice and there is no question of rape in the instant matter.