New Delhi, February 16 The Supreme Court on Monday said that a boy and a girl are "complete strangers" before marriage, and they should exercise caution when engaging in pre-marital physical relationships.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, which was hearing the bail plea of a man accused of rape based on a false promise of marriage, questioned the woman about why she travelled all the way to Dubai where they engaged in a physical relationship.
"It's consensual. We may be old-fashioned, but a boy and a girl before marriage are complete strangers. They should be cautious when engaging in physical relationships before marriage," the bench observed.
"Whatever the nature of their relationship, we fail to understand how they could be engaging in a physical relationship before marriage. Perhaps we are old-fashioned, but you must be very careful; no one should believe anyone before marriage," Justice Nagarathna said.
The woman's counsel said that they met on a matrimonial website in 2022, and he allegedly engaged in physical relations with her on multiple occasions in Delhi and later in Dubai, based on a false promise of marriage.
Justice Nagarathna questioned the woman about the need for her to travel to Dubai and observed that it appears to be a case of consensual relationship.
"She should not have gone before marriage if she was so strict about it. We will send them to mediation. These are not cases that need to be tried and convicted when there is a consensual relationship," she said.
Justice Nagarathna asked the man's counsel to pay some compensation to the woman and conclude the matter.
The bench also asked the woman's counsel to explore the possibility of settlement and posted the matter for hearing on Wednesday to hear the views of both parties.
The woman has claimed in her complaint that, at his insistence, she travelled to Dubai, where he allegedly engaged in a physical relationship with her based on a false pretext of marriage and recorded intimate videos without her consent, threatening to circulate them if she resisted.
The woman said that later she learned that he had married a second woman in January 2024 in Punjab.
The Delhi High Court and the trial court had dismissed the bail application of the man.
The high court rejected bail, saying the allegations prima facie indicate that the promise of marriage was false from the outset, particularly as the petitioner was already married and had married again on January 19, 2024.
Aggrieved by the high court's order, the man approached the top court for bail in the case.