Kerala HC quashes rape charges against man, cites 3-year-long relationship to question ‘educated’ woman’s allegations: How courts are dealing with misuse of rape laws

The Kerala High Court on Monday (1st December) quashed criminal proceedings against a man, rejecting the rape accusations brought against him by a woman. A single bench of Justice G Girish examined the submissions of both sides and found several contradictions in the woman’s claims, after which he passed the decision.

The petitioner had approached the High Court seeking the quashing of the criminal proceedings, which were initiated after an FIR was filed against him on July 23, 2018, by the Erattupetta Police under Section 376(f)(n) of the IPC and Section 66E of the Information Technology Act. The complainant (woman) alleged that the petitioner committed rape on her during the period between 2011 and 2014, and subjected her to mental torture by threatening to publish her objectionable photos and disclose their affair.

HC cited loopholes in the victim’s claims

However, the High Court found the complainant’s account replete with dichotomies, which supported the man’s claim that he was falsely implicated in the case after he sued the complainant for failing to repay money she had borrowed from him and for committing insurance fraud with him.

“Having regard to the financial and property transactions between the petitioner and the de facto complainant from 2010 onwards as revealed from the case records, it is too hard to believe the version of the de facto complainant that the petitioner had been subjecting her to sexual abuse for a period of more than three years, and that she did not disclose the above crime due to shame,” the High Court noted in the judgment accessed by OpIndia.

The High Court pointed out that in 2017, the complainant had testified for the petitioner before a court in a case of cheque dishonour, in which she described him as “a close family friend”. “The allegation of the de facto complainant that on several occasions, the petitioner compelled her to come to her residence at Thrissur and also to his residence at Poonjar, and that she had to surrender herself to the petitioner, cannot be reconciled with the sworn statement which the de facto complainant gave on 26.07.2017 before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court to the effect that the petitioner is a close family friend of her,” the Court pointed out.

Expressing disbelief in the complainant’s claims, Justice Girish said that it could not be expected of an “educated and employed lady like the petitioner would have fallen prey to the coercion and criminal intimidation of the petitioner for a period of about three years, and subjected herself to the sexual abuse of the petitioner.” After analysing the sequence of events, from the institution of a suit by the petitioner against the complaint followed by the filing of an FIR by the complainant against the petitioner, the High Court concluded that there was “substance in the allegation of the petitioner that a false complaint has been lodged against him as a counterblast to the legal action initiated by him against the de facto complainant”.

A consensual relationship turning sour cannot be a ground for invoking rape allegations: SC

The case is the latest example of how laws relating to sexual offences against women are being misused by several women in India, which results in the harassment of innocent men, undermining the cases of actual victims and the abuse of the process of law. Indian courts have repeatedly clarified that that consensual relationships turning sour or not resulting in marriages do not constitute the offence of rape.

In May 2025, the Supreme Court held that initiating criminal proceedings in cases involving consensual relationships deteriorating over time adds to the burden on the judiciary and damages the reputation of innocent persons. The observation was made by the Apex Court in a case in which fake rape allegations were levelled by a married mother of one against a 23-year-old man after their relationship turned sour.

“A consensual relationship turning sour or partners becoming distant cannot be a ground for invoking the criminal machinery of the State. Such conduct not only burdens the Courts, but also blots the identity of an individual accused of such a heinous offence. This Court has time and again warned against the misuse of the provisions, and has termed it a folly to treat each breach of promise to marry as a false promise and prosecute a person for an offence under section 376 IPC,” the top court noted, dismissing the criminal proceedings.

High Courts adopt a strict approach in dealing with false rape cases

With the rampant rise in the number of false rape cases, India Courts are exercising caution while trying rape cases. In some recent cases, various High Courts quashed criminal proceedings where the rape cases were found to be false. In August 2025, the Uttarakhand High Court dismissed rape proceedings against a minor boy after finding that the complainant and the accused had a consensual relationship. In a similar case, a Lucknow court sentenced a woman to 7.5 years in jail after she implicated two men in a rape case and offences under the SC/ST Act. Last year in August, the Bombay High Court quashed an FIR filed against a 73-year-old man, who was accused of raping a woman on a false promise of marriage. The High Court noted the fact that the complainant had been in a sexual relationship for 31 years and the complainant had never before spoken about her opposition to the relationship.

Legal remedies for men falsely accused of sexual offences

The increasing trend of rape laws being invoked by women after emotional fallout in consensual relationships is alarming and needs to be addressed by the judiciary to prevent the laws from being weaponised by vindictive individuals. There are several legal provisions which can be invoked by men facing false rape cases. Such men can seek the quashing of FIR under Section 482 CrPC (now Section 528 BNSS) in the respective High Court. They can invoke Sections 182 (false information to a public servant, Section 217 BNS) and 211 (false charge to injure, Section 248 BNS) of the IPC against women who falsely accuse them of sexual offences, after they have been acquitted or the charges have been proved to be fabricated. Apart from this, a Magistrate can invoke Section 273 of the BNSS and order the complainant to give compensation to the accused after acquittal if he finds that there was no reasonable ground for the accusation.

However, cases pertaining to sensitive relationships often have a wider social impact. Media headlines tend to sensationalise cases where the legal nuances are ignored, and controversial aspects are hyped. Intimate relationships are complicated and sometimes, due to the diverse socio-economic power dynamics, prolonged relationships can still be abusive and ‘coerced’, even though they appear to be consensual on the surface. Sweeping statements against women, and even men, tend to spread confusion among the masses. Hence, it is prudent for the judiciary and the media both to approach social issues with care.