Court nixes charge after rape accused marries girl, tells HC they were in love

Panaji: The Bombay high court has quashed a rape case and proceedings before the Posco court after the girl, now 19, said she is married to the accused and doesn’t wish to continue with criminal proceedings as this would disrupt her peaceful marital life.

The court considered the affidavits of both the accused and the woman, which stated that they are happily married.The two got acquainted through Instagram around six years ago, and their friendship turned into deeper intimacy and they took a conscious decision to get married, the court was told.The woman’s mother, who was against the relationship, filed a police complaint in 2023, when the woman was 17, stating that her daughter had been raped the man, following which an FIR was registered.

The court was told that if the case continues, their lives will be ruined and that the children born to them would be looked at as kids of a criminal.The woman submitted to the high court that she always intended to marry the man out of her own free will, and did so in July 2024. She said she wants to lead the rest of her life with him peacefully. She stated that she is staying with him in their matrimonial home with her parents-in-law, and doesn’t wish to continue criminal proceedings as she has moved on with life.

The high court held that continuation of criminal proceedings would be futile and that justice in this case demands that proceedings should be put to an end and the couple may continue their marital life. The court also observed that the woman categorically stated that she is happily married living a peaceful life in her marriage.