'We Are Old-Fashioned': Supreme Court Questions Pre-Marital Intimacy, Advises Caution Before Marriage

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday made an observation on pre-marital relationships involving physical intimacy as it considered the bail plea of man who had been accused of obtaining consent from a woman based on false assurance of marriage.

A Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan heard the petition.

"Maybe we are old fashioned but before marriage a boy and a girl are strangers. Whatever may be the thick and thin of their relationship. We fail to understand how they can be indulging in physical relationship before marriage," Justice Nagarathna said.

"You must be very careful, nobody should believe anybody before marriage," she added.

The man has been accused of inducing a 30-year-old woman into a physical relationship initially in Delhi and later in Dubai on the promise that he would marry her. However, according to reports, he was found to be already married by the complainant woman. She alleged that the accused had married another woman on January 19, 2024, in Punjab rendering the promises false.

The complainant reportedly met the accused through a matrimonial website in 2022. The woman has also claimed that intimate videos were recorded without her consent and that she was threatened with their circulation.

During the proceedings, the Bench questioned the circumstances under which the complainant travelled to Dubai. “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 a consensual relationship,” Justice Nagarathna said.

Bail pleas filed by the accused had been rejected by the Sessions Court and the Delhi High Court previously. The matter has been listed for Wednesday for further hearing.

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