‘Courts Can’t Be Used to Facilitate Marriages in Sexual Offense Cases’: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court on Monday held that courts cannot serve as “marriage facilitators” in sexual offense cases, emphasizing that the judicial system should not be manipulated for personal motives or to pressurize any party to act in a certain way.

A bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma made these remarks while dismissing an anticipatory bail plea from an accused in a case where he allegedly raped a woman under false pretenses of marriage. The accused sought pre-arrest bail, asserting that he was willing to marry the victim, and that the woman’s father, who had previously opposed the inter-caste marriage, was now ready to accept it.

The bench, however, noted that the evidence on record indicated that both the accused and the complainant had manipulated the judicial system and investigating agencies for their own benefit.

The court stressed that courts should not be used to facilitate marriages or as a means to gain bail after filing an FIR alleging that the accused refused to marry the victim after engaging in a physical relationship.

The State opposed the plea, arguing that the allegations were serious and the accused had not cooperated with the investigation.

The court also pointed out that it has become a trend to burden the judicial system with complaints that clog the court’s docket, and it has observed cases where bail is granted based on the promise of marriage, only for subsequent applications to be filed for bail cancellation, alleging abandonment after marriage.

In this particular case, the court found no evidence in the trial court or earlier proceedings to suggest that the parties were considering marriage or that the accused had admitted to having a consensual relationship with the alleged victim. The accused only presented the notion of marriage at a later stage.

The court concluded that this case was not suitable for anticipatory bail, as the matter had progressed from the filing of the FIR to the current stage of investigation, and custodial interrogation of the accused might be necessary for the truth to emerge.