The Supreme Court has quashed the conviction of a man sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment in a rape case, after noting that the complainant and the convict have since married each other and are living together.

The court observed that the relationship between the two was consensual and that a misunderstanding had given it a criminal colour.

A bench of Justices B. V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, in a verdict delivered on December 5, said that when the matter first came before the court, it sensed the possibility of reconciliation.

“We had a sixth sense that the appellant and the respondent prosecutrix could be brought together once again if they decided to marry each other,” the bench said.

The court recorded that the parties married in July this year and have been residing together since then.

“This is one of those rare cases where, on the intervention of this court, the appellant herein, who had applied to seek suspension of his sentence, was ultimately benefited by quashing of his conviction as well as the sentence,” the bench noted.

The verdict came on an appeal filed by the man against an April 2024 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had rejected his application seeking suspension of sentence.

Earlier, a trial court had convicted him and imposed a sentence of 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 55,000. According to the Supreme Court, it had interacted with both the appellant and the woman in the presence of their parents.

During this interaction, the court was informed that the two were willing to marry each other. The bench granted interim bail to the appellant, following which the marriage took place in July.

The court noted that their parents were happy with the development.

“Consequently, we have invoked our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India to do complete justice in the matter by quashing the complaint as well as the conviction and sentence passed against the appellant herein,” the bench said.

The court added, “We think that owing to a misunderstanding, the consensual relationship between the parties was given a criminal colour and converted into an offence of false promise of marriage, whereas the parties, in fact, intended to marry each other.”

The judgment records that the appellant met the woman in 2015 on a social media platform and that the two developed a liking for each other. They later entered into a consensual physical relationship.

As per the woman’s statement, she acted on an alleged false promise of marriage made by the appellant.

The bench observed that the appellant’s request to postpone the date of marriage may have caused insecurity to the woman, leading her to file a criminal complaint. An FIR was lodged in November 2021.

After his conviction by the trial court in April last year, the man approached the high court. His plea for suspension of sentence was rejected, prompting him to move the Supreme Court.

By the time the matter was heard by the apex court, the parties were married and living together. Counsel appearing for both sides submitted that the criminal proceedings be quashed.

Accepting the request, the bench quashed the FIR and the trial court’s judgment, rendering the appeal pending before the high court infructuous.

During the hearing, the appellant’s counsel informed the court that he had been suspended from service following the criminal complaint and the conviction.

Recording this submission, the bench said, “In view of this order, a direction may be issued to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, to revoke the order of suspension and to pay the arrears of salary to the appellant.”