Court Acquits Man Accused of Rape After 11 Years of Cohabitation and Three Children

The Chhattisgarh High Court has acquitted a man accused of rape, where a woman alleged he had sexual relations with her under the pretext of marriage. The court ruled that if the woman willingly cohabited with the accused for an extended period and considered him her husband, it would be difficult to establish that the sexual relations were non-consensual or deceptive. The case originated in Ramgarh, where a woman filed a report alleging that the accused deceived her with a marriage promise and engaged in sexual relations. The woman, previously married to an alcoholic, claimed the accused urged her to leave her husband, promising marriage. The woman, residing in Bilaspur, met the accused in 2008 at an NGO where she worked. He helped her secure rented accommodation, and they lived together as husband and wife. She alleged the accused had sexual relations with her during this time, resulting in three children. After 11 years, the man left in 2019, claiming he would return in a week, but never did. The woman then filed a rape case. The police arrested the accused, and the case reached the court. The Raigarh Fast Track Court framed charges against the man. The man challenged the Fast Track Court’s order in the High Court. His lawyer argued that the woman willingly lived with the man as husband and wife, and the relations were consensual, therefore not rape. The woman had also identified the man as her husband in various documents. The High Court overturned the Raigarh court’s decision, citing a Supreme Court ruling, stating that if a man and woman lived together willingly, considering each other as husband and wife, it is difficult to prove that the woman was deceived into having sexual relations.