Allahabad High Court: No Presumption That Victim Always Tells Entire Truth in Rape Cases
The Allahabad High Court has observed that in today’s times, there can be no presumption that the prosecutrix (victim) always narrates the entire story truthfully in rape cases. The remark came while granting bail to a man accused of sexually exploiting a married woman.
The accused was booked under Sections 376(2)(n), 342, 452, 506, 504, 323, and 406 of the IPC. The allegations claimed that he exploited the woman on the pretext of providing her a government job and making false promises, apart from threatening to leak her photographs.
Arrested in August last year, the accused argued that the case was not one of rape but of a consensual relationship, as the woman willingly maintained an affair with him. It was also claimed that the FIR was lodged only after her husband and family members discovered the relationship, to protect her own reputation.
The state and complainant opposed the bail plea. However, after reviewing the case, the Court noted that the woman, being married and mature, was capable of understanding the implications of her actions. She knowingly entered into the relationship and was aware that marriage with the accused was unlikely.
The Court highlighted that a consensual extramarital affair cannot automatically be treated as rape, and stressed that it cannot always be presumed that the victim speaks the complete truth in such matters.
Accordingly, the High Court granted bail to the accused.
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