Long sexual relationship = marriage? SC to decide

Should a man's consensual relationship with a woman be treated as de facto marriage? Should he be fastened with civil liabilities like maintenance for his cohabitation?

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine these critical questions, which came up after a Bengaluru man pleaded that charges of rape, among other charges, levelled against him by a woman be dropped, as he claimed his relationship with her was consensual.

A bench of justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and S Abdul Nazeer noted that the court has come across several cases where a man cannot be held criminally liable for rape after being in relationship with a woman. But the long period of cohabitation could entail certain liabilities like in a marriage, it said.

The top court stayed the criminal proceedings initiated against petitioner Aloka Kumar. The court appointed senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi as amicus curiae and asked Attorney General K K Venugopal to depute a law officer to assist in the matter.

"Whether, on account of long cohabitation, even if the relationship is held to be consensual and the petitioner is not held liable for the offence alleged, the petitioner can be fastened the civil liability treating the relationship to be de facto marriage in view of long cohabitation," the bench said.

This interpretation may have to be considered so that a girl is not subjected to any exploitation and is not rendered remediless even if a criminal offence is not made out, the bench said.

The court also cited an article published in 2012, wherein former Supreme Court judge A K Ganguly has stressed the need to remove the ambiguity over live-in relationships.

The petitioner, a resident of Bengaluru north taluk, challenged the Karnataka High Court's judgement of January 31, 2018, which had declined his plea to quash the complaint lodged against him by the woman's mother.

He contended that it was a case of consensual sex. He claimed the woman, who was above 18 years of age, entered into relationship on her own.

The victim's mother lodged a police complaint in 2016 that Kumar had been in love with her daughter for the last six years. He had promised to marry her but now had refused, forcing her daughter to attempt suicide on March 23, 2016.

The woman, in her statement to police, said she cooperated with the accused under the misconception that he would marry her.

The top court had earlier on April 20 stayed the criminal proceedings against Kumar's father, brother and others and issued notice to the Karnataka government on a separate plea by them against the high court's order. It has fixed September 12 as the next date of hearing.