NEW DELHI: With the number of rape complaints, arising out of false promise of marriage, on the rise, Supreme Court Monday cautioned young men and women about pre-marital physical relationships, even it admitted that the view may be branded as old-fashioned.Hearing the bail plea of a man who is facing prosecution for rape over a false promise of marriage, Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan raised questions over how the woman in question had agreed to go with the man to Dubai, where the two had a physical relationship.“It’s consensual. We may be old-fashioned, but a boy and girl before marriage are total strangers. They should be circumspect in indulging in physical relationships before marriage,” the bench observed.“Whatever may be the thick and thin of their relationship, we fail to understand how they can be indulging in physical relationship before marriage… you must be very careful; nobody should believe anybody before marriage,” Justice Nagarathna said.In the case, the complainant claimed that she had travelled to Dubai on the man’s insistence, and he had established physical relations with her under the pretext of marriage, only to marry someone else later.Justice Nagarathna said such cases are not suitable for trial and conviction and suggested that the parties be referred for mediation. It asked the two parties to explore the possibility of settlement and posted the matter for hearing on Wednesday to ascertain their views.“She should not have gone before marriage if she was so strict about it. We will send them for mediation. These are not cases which are to be tried and convicted, when there is a consensual relationship,” she said.
