The Uttarakhand High Court recently said the rape law is being misused like a weapon by women these days when differences arise between a woman and her male partner.

“In fact, the offence under Section 376 of the IPC as of now in this modernised society is being misused as a weapon by the females to be misutilized as soon as there arise certain differences between herself and her male counterpart, and rather it is being used as a weapon to duress upon the other side for a number of undisclosed factors, and it cannot be ruled out that the provisions contained under Section 376 of the IPC are being rampantly misused by the females,” the court said.

The court made the remarks while quashing criminal proceedings initiated against a man who was booked for having sexual relations with a woman allegedly on the pretext of marriage.

The court held that the woman’s complaint of rape in this case would not stand since it was made 15 years after the relationship began and considering that the relationship continued even after the accused married another person.

“Ultimately, the conclusion, which has been drawn, is that an element or assurance of marriage, and on that pretext, entering into a consensual relationship, the falsity of an assurance of marriage is to be tested at its initial stage of inception, and not at a subsequent stage. The initial stage, herein, cannot be said to have been prolonged for 15 years, and even continued after the marriage of the applicant,” the Court further said.

“When the complainant had voluntarily established a relationship even after knowing the fact, that the applicant is already a married person, the element of consent itself imbibes in it,” the court added.