Consensual Relationship Can Turn Non Consensual Later, SC Observes

The Supreme Court of India recently refused to quash an FIR in a rape case registered under Sections 342, 354, 366, 376(2)(n), 312, 201, 420, 506 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Sections 66(E), 67 and 67(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The FIR was lodged against the petitioner-accused by a woman with whom he had a relationship in the past.

The High Court had refused to entertain the plea of the accused for invalidating the FIR. Hence, he had approached the Apex Court.

The Supreme Court observed that the allegations in the instant case could not be held to be inherently improbable, which was one of the grounds for quashing an FIR, as held in the judgment of State of Haryana & Ors. vs. Bhajan Lal & Ors., reported in 1992 SCC Supl. (1) 335. 

The Court opined that a relationship may be consensual at the beginning but the same state may not remain so for all time to come.

"Whenever one of the partners show their unwillingness to continue with such relationship, the character of such relationship at it was when started will not continue to prevail," bench comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Kumar added.

The Court further stated that the relationship in the instant case had not remained consensual to justify quashing of the criminal complaint at the threshold. The Court also refused to agree that the complaint, in pursuance of which the FIR came to be registered, lacked the ingredients of the offences alleged.

With the above-mentioned observations, the instant plea was dismissed by the Court.