In a major ruling, the Supreme Court quashed an FIR and chargesheet for rape filed against an Aurangabad lawyer, holding that a three-year long intimate relationship between two consenting adults cannot be retroactively converted into a criminal case of rape merely because the relationship later soured. Justice B.V. Nagarathna, speaking for the Bench, observed that the woman—who was still legally married—willingly maintained a prolonged relationship, met the appellant repeatedly on her own volition, and even continued physical intimacy despite refusing his proposals for marriage. The Court held that there was no evidence of coercion, false promise of marriage, or deception from the inception, and noted the FIR was lodged only after the man declined to pay ₹1,50,000 as demanded. Calling it a “classic case of a consensual relationship turning acrimonious,” the Court warned against the growing trend of giving failed relationships the “colour of criminality,” and ruled that continuing the prosecution would be a gross abuse of the criminal justice system. Accordingly, the FIR and chargesheet under Sections 376, 376(2)(n), and 507 IPC were fully quashed.
Samadhan S/o Sitaram Manmothe v. State of Maharashtra & Another (Supreme Court, 24 November 2025)