KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has observed that merely because a consensual relationship turns sour at a later stage, it cannot form the basis of a rape allegation.

The court further stated that there cannot be a case of deceitfully obtaining consent under a false promise of marriage if the complainant is still in a subsisting marriage.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas made the observation while granting anticipatory bail to a 27-year-old man from Malappuram, who was accused in a rape case registered by the Thamarassery police.

According to the prosecution, the accused had raped a third-year student of a private medical college between 3 November 2024 and 4 November 2024 at a hotel near Thamarassery.

The counsel for the petitioner argued that the allegations were false and that a consensual relationship had been converted into a rape case without any basis, merely because the relationship later deteriorated.

The court noted that the complainant’s statement revealed she is a third-year student at a private medical college and had been married in 2023, a marriage that is still subsisting, though the couple had decided to part ways.

The complainant stated that, in the meantime, she became acquainted with the petitioner through Instagram, and their relationship continued through a platform called Snapchat. Later, according to the complainant herself, under the pretext of returning home for study leave, she took a train to Kozhikode, where she was picked up by the petitioner.