The Supreme Court has ruled that a woman cannot accuse a man of forcing her into a sexual relationship with a false promise of marriage if they were in a long-term live-in relationship. The top court said that when a couple has lived together for a long time, it is difficult to say that the only reason for their relationship was a promise of marriage.

This ruling came in a case involving a bank manager and a lecturer. The woman accused the man of rape, saying he had sexual relations with her over a fake promise of marriage. However, the Supreme Court dismissed the case, saying that both partners were well-educated and had a consensual relationship.

The court further noted that the couple continued their relationship even when they were living in different cities. The judges said that the case was simply a live-in relationship that had ended badly.

Court’s explanation on the ruling

The Supreme Court, in its ruling, said, “It is hard to believe that the complainant kept on bending to the demands of the appellant for a period of nearly 16 years without raising any protest to any quarter that the appellant was exploiting her sexually under the pretext of a false promise of marriage.”

The judges pointed out that the couple stayed together for 16 years, which indicated that there was no fraud involved. The court added, “The prolonged period of 16 years during which the sexual relations continued unabatedly between the parties is sufficient to conclude that there was never an element of force or deceit in the relationship.”

The Supreme Court also said that if a woman stays in a relationship for such a long period, it weakens her claim that she was misled. “Such claims, that the sexual relations were continued solely on the promise of marriage, lose credibility due to the prolonged nature of the relationship,” the court stated.

With this ruling, the Supreme Court made it clear that live-in relationships cannot be treated the same as cases of forced sexual relations under a false promise of marriage.

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