High Court Rules in Favor of Man Accused of Rape After Long-Term Relationship

A man in Chhattisgarh has been cleared of rape charges by the High Court, following accusations from a woman who claimed he made sexual advances under the guise of marriage. The court’s decision exonerated the accused, stating that if a woman lives with a man and considers him her spouse for an extended duration, it is challenging to prove that sexual acts were non-consensual or based on deception. The case stemmed from Ramgarh, where a woman reported that the accused had promised marriage and subsequently engaged in sexual relations with her. The woman, who was previously married but had an alcoholic husband, stated that the accused convinced her to leave her husband, pledging to marry her. The woman first encountered the accused in 2008 in Bilaspur, where she worked for an NGO. The accused arranged housing for her, and they began living together as a couple. She alleged that the accused had sexual relations with her, resulting in three children. After 11 years of cohabitation, the man left in 2019, saying he would return after a week, but he never did. The woman then filed a rape case. The police arrested the accused, and the matter went to court. The Raigarh Fast Track Court had already framed charges against him. The man appealed the Fast Track Court’s decision in the High Court. The man’s counsel argued that the woman and the man lived together consensually, thus the act could not be labeled as rape. The woman had also identified the man as her husband in her documents. The High Court reversed the Raigarh court’s decision, referring to a Supreme Court judgment, declaring that when a man and woman have lived together voluntarily and considered each other as spouses, proving the woman was deceived into the act is problematic.