'Case of Relationship Turned Sour': Woman Claims Man Raped Her From 1987 To 2017, HC Dismisses Case

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has dismissed a case against a 73-year-old man who was accused of sexually abusing a woman since 1987, ruling that the relationship was consensual. The court found that the First Information Report (FIR) "clearly indicates a consensual relationship" and noted the significant delay in lodging the complaint, which was filed in 2018.

The division bench, comprising Justices AS Gadkari and Neela Gokhale, observed that the couple had been involved in a sexual relationship for 31 years, during which the complainant never voiced any objections. The court described the case as one where the relationship soured and the complaint was filed subsequently.

According to the case, the woman joined the man's company in 1987, where the accused allegedly initially forced himself on her. Over the next 30 years till 2017, the man reportedly raped her at various locations, including hotels in Kalyan and Bhiwandi. He had promised to marry her, put a 'mangalsutra' around her neck in 1993, and declared her his second wife, forbidding her from marrying anyone else.

The complainant claimed she cared for the company after the accused suffered a heart attack in 1996. However, in September 2017, when she returned to work after her mother was diagnosed with cancer, she found the office closed. The man then allegedly refused to marry her, did not provide her with important documents relating to banking, income tax, an agreement related to a medical shop and the gold 'mangalsutra'. He also refused to meet her.

The bench observed that the FIR itself indicates the woman was aware the accused was married and continued to believe his assurance regarding marriage despite this knowledge.

"She is adult enough to know the law forbids a second marriage and there is no allegation in the complaint that the accused promised to divorce his first wife and then marry her. Even otherwise, this would purely be wishful thinking on the part of the woman that the accused will marry her after divorcing his existing wife," the court said.

In the past 31 years, there were many opportunities for the woman to break away and lodge a complaint against the accused but she did not do so, the bench noted.