India’s Supreme Court on Monday reportedly questioned the circumstances under which a young widow entered into a live-in relationship. The Supreme Court was hearing a case related to allegations of rape based on a false promise of marriage.
During the hearing, Justice P V Nagarathna commented, “Why did you go and live with him before marriage?” As reported by Live Law. She further noted: “See when we ask these questions it is said that we are shaming the victim, what is this?”
The accused’s lawyer said that the complainant was in a vulnerable position at the time. “He met her when she was just an 18-year-old young widow. He promised to marry her,” the lawyer said.
The case concerns a man requesting bail after being accused of having a relationship with the complainant to secure marriage.
The court’s observations echo observations made earlier this year. In February, while presiding over a separate matter, Justice Nagaratna said premarital relationships required caution.
“Maybe we are old-fashioned,” says Nagarathna.
Making a sharp observation on pre-marital relationships while hearing a bail plea in another rape case, a bench of Justice Nagaratna and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan observed: “Maybe we are old-fashioned, but before marriage, a boy and a girl are strangers.” Living law The report said.
The court was hearing the plea of a man accused of raping a woman under the false pretext of marriage.
She continued, wondering about the nature of such relationships, adding: “No matter how thick or thin the relationship between them is, we fail to understand how they could indulge in a physical relationship before marriage.”
“Don’t believe anyone before marriage”
Emphasizing caution, the judge said: “You should be very careful, no one should believe anyone before marriage,” the report added.
According to the details of the case, the complainant, who is around 30 years old, met the man on a matrimonial platform in 2022. The accused allegedly had physical relations with her repeatedly, both in Delhi and later in Dubai, on the assurance that he would marry her.
The woman also claimed that she traveled to Dubai on the man’s insistence, where he not only continued the relationship but also recorded intimate videos without her consent. She claimed that he later threatened to distribute those videos if she resisted.
It was only later that she discovered that he had entered into a second marriage on January 19, 2024 in Punjab.
