Bombay High Court Quashes Rape Case Against Lawyer, Calls It a Sour Relationship
The Bombay High Court has quashed a rape case filed against a Mumbai-based lawyer, stating that the allegations arose from a consensual relationship that later turned bitter.
The case involved charges under Sections 376(2)(n) (repeated rape), 504 (intentional insult), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complainant, who was married and living in the United States, returned to India after marital issues. She sought a divorce and reconnected with the lawyer, who was her former classmate.
A Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande noted that the complainant willingly entered into a physical relationship with the accused, despite being married at the time. The court observed that the case also involved financial disputes, including a transfer of ₹33 lakh, of which ₹28 lakh was a loan and ₹5 lakh was legal fees. The lawyer stated that he had repaid the loan, but the complainant later demanded an additional ₹5 lakh and allegedly threatened to file a false case.
The High Court held that the FIR and chargesheet did not support the allegations of rape under Section 376(2)(n) IPC. The judges observed that both parties were consenting adults in a relationship that eventually soured. Continuing the case, they said, would be an abuse of the legal process since conviction was unlikely.
As a result, the Court quashed the chargesheet and all related proceedings against the lawyer.
Cause Title: Tapan Anant Thatte v. The State of Maharashtra & Anr. [2024:BHC-AS:44567-DB]
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