The matter was heard by a single judge bench comprising Justice M Nagaprasanna, who observed that a man has no right to assault a woman, even if they are in a consensual relationship together.
The Karnataka High Court has ruled that if two people are in a consensual relationship, it does not "grant them the license" to assault the other person. With this ruling, the state High Court refused to quash an attempted murder case registered against a Circle Inspector.
The matter was heard by a single judge bench comprising Justice M Nagaprasanna, who observed that a man has no right to assault a woman, even if they are in a consensual relationship together.
"I deem it appropriate to hold that consensual acts between the accused and the victim for having a sexual relationship, can never become a licence to the man to assault the lady. The case at hand projects gross misogynist brutality upon the complainant," he was quoted as saying by Live Law.
The case reached the High Court after the petitioner sought to quash the case citing that he was in a consensual relationship with the complainant at the time of the assault charges and stated that all acts conducted were with consent from both parties. However, the complainant, who is the wife of the police officer, has denied this and stated that the consent was "obtained by force."
The complainant is a social worker and wife of a Circle Inspector. She has alleged that on November 11, 2021, she was "picked up, driven to a hotel where her husband physically and sexually assaulted her."
After allegedly raping her, the wife was then dropped off at Sagar Bus stop around 3 AM in the night, following which she went to a hospital for treatment for the injuries due to the assault and filed a complaint against the husband.
The husband has been charged with charged for Sections 376(2)(n), 368, 342, 307, 355, 323, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.
The petitioner has sought for this complaint to be quashed stating that he was in a consensual relationship with the complainant from 2017 to 2022.
Based on police investigation, the chargesheet found that there were several witnesses to the assault and hospital records show clearly that the assault was inflicted upon the wife by the husband during their relationship.
The court observed that while some acts were consensual, for four years during the relationship, many times consent was "obtained by fraud, dominance or otherwise. The consent cannot be obtained by these methods for four long years."
The plea of the complainant was "partially allowed", as the court removed the charge of rape against the petitioner.