Madras High Court Rules Consensual Long-Term Relationships Cannot Be Criminalized as Rape

The complaint was initiated by a woman in 2025, forming the basis of the case.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed rape proceedings against a man accused of engaging in sexual relations with a woman under an allegedly false marriage promise, reaffirming that consensual long-term relationships cannot be retrospectively criminalized.

Justice B Pugalendhi granted the petition filed by Deva Vijay, determining that the couple had maintained a voluntary relationship for approximately nine years and that continuing criminal prosecution would constitute an abuse of legal process. The case originated from a complaint lodged by the woman in 2025, claiming that she had consented to intimate relations since 2015 based on the petitioner's marriage promise, and that he subsequently attempted to marry another person.

The Court observed that the relationship, which continued until 2024, was evidently consensual, maintained without objection over several years, and involved two educated adults who "consciously entered into a relationship of intimacy." The judge highlighted that "private discord arising from consensual acts cannot be converted into criminal misconduct."

Justice Pugalendhi referenced multiple Supreme Court judgments, including 'Pramod Suryabhan Pawar', 'Deepak Gulati', 'Biswajyoti Chatterjee', and 'Mahesh Damu Khare', which establish a clear distinction between a simple breach of marriage promise and a false promise made with deceptive intent from the beginning. The High Court noted that evidence did not indicate the petitioner had initially made a deceptive promise merely to persuade the woman into a physical relationship.

The judge also commented on the "growing tendency" of invoking rape provisions when relationships deteriorate, stating that every failed relationship cannot be assigned a "colour of criminality."

Concluding that the extended intimacy over nine years rendered the allegation of misconceived consent "implausible," the Court quashed the proceedings pending before the Judicial Magistrate, Valliyur, and closed all related petitions.