The Supreme Court on Monday said a boy and a girl
before marriage are "total strangers" and they should be cautious
while indulging in pre-marital physical relationships.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan,
which was hearing the bail plea of a man accused of rape on a false promise of
marriage, questioned the woman why she travelled all the way to Dubai where
they indulged in physical relationship.
"It's consensual. We may be old-fashioned but a
boy and girl before marriage are total strangers. They should be circumspect in
indulging in physical relationships before marriage," the bench observed.
"Whatever may be the thick and thin of their
relationship, we fail to understand how they can be indulging in physical
relationship before marriage. Maybe we are old- fashioned but you must be very
careful, nobody should believe anybody before marriage," Justice
Nagarathna said.
Counsel for the woman said they met on a matrimonial
website in 2022 and he allegedly established physical relations with her on a
false promise of marriage on multiple occasions in Delhi and later in Dubai.
Justice Nagarathna questioned the woman about what
was the need for her to travel to Dubai and observed that it appears to be a
case of consensual relationship.
"She should not have gone before marriage if
she was so strict about it. We will send them to mediation. These are not cases
which are to be tried and convicted when there is consensual
relationship," she said.
Justice Nagarathna asked the counsel for the man to
pay some compensation to her and be done with it.
The bench also asked the woman's counsel to explore
the possibility of settlement and posted the matter for hearing on Wednesday to
see the views of both the parties.
The woman has claimed in her complaint that on his
insistence, she travelled to Dubai where he allegedly established physical
relations with her on false pretext of marriage and recorded intimate videos
without her consent, threatening to circulate them if she resisted.
The woman said that later she learnt that he had
married a second woman in January, 2024 in Punjab.
The Delhi High Court and the trial court had
dismissed the bail application of the man.
The high court rejected bail, saying the allegations
prima facie indicate that the promise of marriage was false from inception,
particularly as the petitioner was already married and had married again on
January 19, 2024.
Aggrieved by the high court's order, the man
approached the top court for bail in the case.