Need to demarcate rape from consensual relationship gone sour: Delhi High court

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted bail to a man and said there should be distinction between rape and a consensual relationship going sour.

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed while it was the duty of the legislature and the executive to enact and implement laws for safety and well-being of women in workforce, the court had a "onerous duty" to be a "watchdog" and prevent its abuse and misuse.

"In the present times, many a times close proximity at workplace results in consensual relationships which on turning sour, get reported as crimes, making it pertinent to be conscious of the distinction between the offence of rape and consensual sex between two adults," it said.

Acting on the man's bail plea, the court observed the case fell in the same genre in which the man and the woman developed "sexual proximity" in the same workplace, but after about a year, the relationship turned sour paving way for allegations of "force and rape".

The court saw no use of keeping the man, arrested in May 2024, behind bars for a long time.

The charges in the case were framed and the veracity of allegations should be tried during trial, which was likely going to take some time, it added.

The man claimed the parties dated each other for "quite a long time" and were "in deep love" with each other.

However, the relationship ended after the accused discovered the complainant was also dating someone else and out of vendetta, she filed a fabricated complaint, the plea claimed.

The police opposed the bail plea saying the allegations were serious in nature.