New Delhi: The Supreme Court used what it called its “sixth sense” to save a man from being wrongly incarcerated for 10 years.
This was a case that arose from a consensual relationship gone sour, the Court noted while setting the man’s rape conviction aside.
Thanks to the Court, the man and the complainant are now happily married to ach other.
It all started in 2015 after the parties became acquainted through social media. When their relationship did not culminate in marriage, the woman filed a complaint in 2021 under Sections 376 and 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code.
A trial court subsequently convicted the man and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. After the High Court declined bail, he approached the Supreme Court, as reported by NDTV.
The matter came up for hearing before the bench of Justice V Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma in March this year.
The judges held interactions in chambers with the man, the woman, and their parents to understand the nature of their relationship. Upon both parties expressing their willingness to marry-along with consent from their families, the Court granted interim bail to the man for the purpose of marriage. The couple got married in July.
When the matter came up again, the court was informed that the couple was leading a happy married life. In its final judgment delivered this month, the Supreme Court quashed the complaint, conviction, and sentence.
Postponement of the marriage had created insecurity in the woman’s mind, which led to the filing of the criminal case, the Court noted.
“We have exercised our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution. We feel that a consensual relationship turned into a crime due to a misunderstanding,” the judgment said.
The Court also remarked that it had a “sixth sense” that the accused and the complainant could be reunited
The Supreme Court also ordered the reinstatement of the man’s job at a government hospital and directed payment of his salary for the period of suspension. The Chief Medical Officer of Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district was instructed to withdraw the suspension order and release the pending salary.
