It was not a violation; they were deeply in love, the Supreme Court held in exonerating a man after his 21-year ordeal. He pointed out that the girl had accused him of rape because they belonged to different religions and could not marry.
The man from Jharkhand was charged with rape and illegal confinement in 1999. Even when the girl’s complaint cited the incidents from four years ago, he was found guilty by a lower court and sentenced to seven years in prison.
The Jharkhand High Court also affirmed his punishment despite the fact that he showed love letters between the two and the fact that the author had stayed with him at his home for fifteen days without a whisper of protest.
It has been more than two decades for man’s destiny to finally change.
On Monday, a court headed by Judge RF Nariman said it was unfortunate that the High Court did not properly evaluate the recorded evidence, including the love letters and their photographs together.
He rejected the girl’s testimony that she was forced to have sexual relations and that her consent was out of fear or obtained fraudulently under the false pretext of marriage.
“We do not hesitate to conclude that the consent of the accuser was nothing more than a conscious and deliberate choice, as opposed to an involuntary action or denial and whose opportunity was available to her, due to her deep love for the appellant … he voluntarily allowed freedoms with his body, which according to normal human behavior are only allowed to a person with whom one is deeply in love, “said judge Navin Sinha, author of the sentence.
He stressed that the man belonged to the Programmed Tribe while the girl was a Christian. “They professed different religious beliefs in a traditional society. The nature and form of the accusations, together with the letters exchanged between them, make it clear that their love for each other grew and matured for a sufficient period of time, ”the bench said.
He added: “They were both in love with each other and the passions of youth dominated their minds and emotions. The physical relationships that followed were not isolated or sporadic in nature, but regular over the years. The prosecutor had even gone and resided in the appellant’s house. “
The sentence also commented on the four-year delay in the FIR’s registration, noting that she went to the police a week before the man married someone else.
“But the appellant did not make any false promises or willful misrepresentations of the marriage that led to the establishment of a physical relationship between the parties. The prosecutor herself was aware of the obstacles in their relationship due to different religious beliefs, “said the judge, concluding that the entire genesis of the case is in serious doubt and therefore the man cannot be found guilty of the alleged crimes.
.
