The law has been made for the protection of the weaker section of the society and the same applies to the women as they are prone to get sexually exploited in the men dominated society but when the weaker section tried to take advantage of the law than the same becomes highly vulnerable. There are hundreds of thousands of cases of rape cases filed by the victim girls in the various courts of India and it also consists of the substantial amount of cases pertaining to the consensual premarital sex, in which the man denied to get married after having the physical relations with the girl. Here, in this case, the Bombay high court has come up with the decision wherein the victim girl will not be able to establish the rape if it was the consensual premarital sex.
According to the sources, the Bombay high court has ruled that a promise to marry cannot be considered as an inducement in every rape case. The above decision has taken by the high court of Bombay while granting the pre-arrest bail to a 21-year-old youth after his former girlfriend had lodged the case of rape following to the breakup in their relationships. Justice Mridula Bhatkar held that an educated girl who has consented to have pre-marital sex should take responsibility for her decision.
The court has further said that it is necessary to establish that there was some kind of prima facie records which concludes that the girl was induced by the accused to such an extent which led her to have sexual relationships with him. “In the event of consent obtained by fraud, inducement is a necessary ingredient. There should be some material on record to believe prima facie that the girl was induced to such an extent that she was ready to have sexual intercourse. Promise to marry cannot be said to be an inducement in these types of cases,” said Justice Bhatkar.
The judge also said that despite the fact that the society is changing, it carries the baggage of morality. “Since generations, there is a moral taboo that it is the responsibility of a woman to be a virgin at the time of marriage. However, today, the young generation is exposed to different interactions with each other and is well informed about sexual activities. Society is trying to be liberated but carries the baggage of different notions of morality wherein sex before marriage is a matter of censure. Under such circumstances, a woman who is in love with a boy forgets that to have sex is her option like her counterpart’s but refuses to take responsibility for her decision.”
The court has made the point here that, the educated women who are also an adult should know the consequences of pre-marital sexual relationships. The court has also pointed out the rise in the trend of criminal prosecutions related to the rape after the relations ends. The judge said that the court needs to take an objective view and balance the life and liberty of the accused with the sufferings of the girl.
