Prolonged consensual relationships negate claims of rape based on false promises of marriage.

1. Heard.

2. Leave granted.

3. The appellant herein has preferred the instant appeal by special leave, assailing the order dated 24th April, 2023, passed by the learned Single Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (Hereinafter, referred to as 'High Court') dismissing the petition filed by the appellant, being Application U/S 482 No. 43177 of 2022, for quashment of the proceedings of Criminal Case No. 1246 of 2022 arising out of chargesheet in Case Crime No. 269 of 2022 under S.376, S.384, S.323, S.504, S.506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Hereinafter, being referred to as ' IPC ') at Police Station Bakewar, District Etawah.

4. Brief facts relevant and essential for the disposal of the present appeal are reproduced hereinbelow.

5. Ms. A, respondent No. 2 - complainant (For short, 'complainant'), lodged an FIR in Case Crime No. 269 of 2022 dated 5th July, 2022, against the appellant at Police Station Bakewar, District Etawah alleging, inter alia, that she is a resident of village Kudaria and was qualified with degrees in M.Com and B.Ed. and since 2008, she had been serving on the post of Lecturer in AFS Bhemora College in Lucknow.

6. It was alleged that the accused, appellant herein, sometime in the year 2006, sneaked into the house of the complainant in the night and subjected her to forcible sexual intercourse. She was neither able to scream nor could call out for help as the appellant had gagged her mouth due to which her parents, who were also present in the house, were unable to get a wind of the incident. She warned the appellant that she would disclose about the incident to her family members, upon which the appellant apologised profoundly and requested her to remain quiet and gave her an assurance of marriage. The complainant, therefore, neither lodged any complaint nor did she take other action in respect of the incident of sexual assault upon her.

7. The appellant initially, was working as a constable in the police department. Later, in 2009, he joined as a Clerk in the State Bank of India in Dhani branch of Maharajganj district. In the intervening period, the intimacy between the appellant and the complainant continued to flourish. The appellant had once called the complainant to Maharajganj, where he made her to consume some intoxicant mixed with ENO, without her knowledge, which made her semi - conscious. Taking advantage, the appellant subjected her to forcible sexual intercourse. He not only video - graphed the offending acts but later, showed it to the complainant when she regained consciousness. The complainant, fearing retribution in society, did not share information about the said incident with anyone. Subsequently, the complainant became pregnant which was confirmed with a pregnancy detection kit. When this information came to the knowledge of the appellant, he mixed some medication in water and made the complainant to drink it in order to cause miscarriage. Since the appellant continuously blackmailed and threatened the complainant using the obscene video, she did not tell anyone about the abortion.

8. The complainant had initially gone to meet the appellant out of her own free will, but the appellant, later on, pressurised her under the threat of making the obscene video / pictures viral. She would therefore, meet him only with the objective of collecting the video from him so that she could delete it. In 2015, the appellant called the complainant to Pratapgarh and threatened her that if she did not accede to his demands, he would make the video viral.

9. Additionally, it was also alleged in the FIR that the appell