In a landmark judgment in favor of women’s rights, the Delhi court ruled that any woman exercising sexual autonomy through consent cannot be presumed to have given her consent to violate her reproductive rights.
Denying bail to a man on charges of rape, the court held that entering a sexual relationship with a man does not strip a woman of her reproductive rights and a woman’s sexual choices do not vest any corresponding right in her partner to exploit her.
The accused and complainant had met on a social media website, following which the man reportedly took her to an acquaintance’s house and raped her on several occasions. He allegedly threatened to reveal their relationship and photographs and used to beat her up upon being confronted for marriage. The man and the woman were in a live-in relationship, the New Indian Express reported.
The complainant’s counsel informed the court that the accused caused the woman to undergo abortions three times who is now pregnant for the fourth time and is more than eight months into the pregnancy.
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The accused emphasized that they engaged in willful sexual intercourse and that the woman could not press allegations under section 376 IPC (rape) only because the relationship could not materialize into marriage.
The court however opposed the accused’s bail application, submitting that the statement of the complainant had specified forcible sexual assault by the accused apart from alleging that he also caused her to abort the pregnancy on multiple occasions.
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