Pre-Marital Physical Relationship Not A Mark On Character: Supreme Court

New Delhi ( Raghwendra Pratap Singh) : The Supreme Court has held that a physical relationship between two consenting unmarried adults cannot, by itself, be a ground to draw an adverse impression about a person’s character, while setting aside the cancellation of a police constable candidate’s selection in Telangana.

A bench of Justices Manmohan and Manoj Misra made the observation while hearing the case of a candidate whose provisional selection as a Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constable was cancelled by the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board over a criminal case registered against him in 2014.

The case stemmed from allegations of sex on the false promise of marriage involving a woman known to the candidate. The matter was later settled before a Lok Adalat in 2015. The candidate had disclosed the case in his application form.

Physical relationship between two consenting unmarried adults cannot and should not by itself be a ground to draw an adverse impression about the character of the person in that relationship. There is no law which prohibits two consenting unmarried adults to have a relationship of their choice,” the court said.

The bench emphasised that not every relationship culminates in marriage and authorities must be sensitive to changing social realities.

The court also clarified that a compromise of a rape-on-promise-of-marriage case before a Lok Adalat does not amount to an admission of guilt. It said an employer cannot draw an adverse inference merely because a criminal case ended in a settlement, unless there is material to suggest that the compromise was forced upon the complainant.