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2002 Supreme(Jhk) 69

VINOD KUMAR GUPTA
SARIMONI MAHATO – Appellant
Versus
AMULYA MAHATO – Respondent


Advocates Appeared:
JAYA ROY, TAPAS RAY

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points summarized:

  1. The element of consent is crucial in establishing the offence of rape under Section 375 of the IPC. Consent given under the belief of future marriage does not constitute a misconception of fact (!) (!) .

  2. The case involved the acquittal of the respondent on charges of rape, where the prosecutrix claimed that the respondent established an illicit sexual relationship under the promise of marriage, which led to her pregnancy (!) (!) .

  3. The court found that the prosecutrix was a consenting participant throughout the sexual relationship, which lasted for more than 1.5 years, and only after becoming pregnant did she claim otherwise (!) (!) .

  4. The legal definition of rape emphasizes that sexual intercourse against the will or without consent constitutes the offence. Consent under misconception of fact, especially based on promises of future marriage, does not amount to a misconception of fact if the woman understood the situation and consented voluntarily (!) (!) .

  5. The court highlighted that consent given on the premise of marriage, which the woman believed the man would fulfill, does not automatically negate her consent nor convert the act into rape if she was a consenting party (!) .

  6. The court rejected the argument that the consent was given under a misconception of fact, clarifying that the woman's belief in marriage was based on her understanding of the promise, not a false representation of fact (!) .

  7. The court emphasized that if the woman consented to sexual intercourse based on the belief that she would marry the man, such consent was valid, and the subsequent failure to marry does not retroactively make the act non-consensual or constitute rape (!) .

  8. The decision referenced legal principles that consent based on a promise of marriage, which the woman believed in at the time, does not amount to a misconception of fact, and therefore, the offence of rape was not established in this case (!) .

  9. The court concluded that the respondent's acquittal was justified, and the prosecution should not have been initiated under these circumstances. The petition was dismissed without costs (!) .

  10. Overall, the judgment underscores the importance of genuine consent and clarifies that consent given under the belief of future marriage, without any false representation or misconception of fact, does not constitute rape under the law.


Judgment :

VINOD KUMAR GUPTA, J.

( 1 ) THIS Criminal Revision petition is directed against the judgment dated 14/08/2001 passed by the learned 1st Addl. Sessions Judge, Seraikella in S. Tr. case No. 20 of 1997 whereby he has acquitted the respondent No. 1 of the charge under Section 376, I. P. C. by holding him not guilty for the same.

( 2 ) THE charge under Section 376, IPC on which the respondent No. 1 was tried related to and revolved around P. W. 1, the alleged so-called victim. According to her, respondent No. 1 who was her co-villager used to come to her house off and on whenever she was alone in the last 11/2 years. It was her case that the respondent No. 1 used to assure her that he would marry her and based on this assurance he established illicit sexual relationship with P. W. 1 repeatedly for long periods due to which she became pregnant. It has also come in her deposition that while respondent No. 1 used to have sexual intercourse with her, and when she had become pregnant, she came to learn that he had married another lady and on enquiry he assured P. W. 1 that he will marry her also. On this, an adjudicatory process was set in motion in the village Panchayat in which










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