Kerala High Court rules on consensual relationships
The Kerala High Court granted anticipatory bail to a 27-year-old man accused of raping a medical student, after deciding their relationship was consensual.
The alleged incident happened in November 2022 at a hotel near Thamarassery.
The court made it clear that just because a consensual relationship ends badly, it doesn't mean it can be called rape.
Complainant traveled across states to meet accused
The complainant, married since February 2023, met the accused on Instagram and Snapchat and chose to travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode to meet him—they stayed together in hotels for two nights.
The court said her existing marriage made claims of being misled by promises of marriage hard to accept.
Rape laws shouldn't be used as revenge when relationships sour
The judges also warned that rape laws shouldn't be used as revenge when relationships sour.
They stressed that calling something rape needs proof of coercion or fraud—not just regret over how things turned out.
This ruling follows recent cases where courts have asked for clear evidence before labeling consensual relationships as sexual offenses.