"No Criminality": Supreme Court Acquits Man Who Abandoned Lady From SC/ST Community After 'Living Together"

The Supreme Court acquitted a man who had allegedly abandoned a lady belonging to SC-ST Community with whom he was living together.

The court observed that no criminality could be attributed to him for merely leaving the lady.

In this case, the lady alleged that she and the accused had lived as man and wife for a few years and in this relationship, she became pregnant and thereafter executed a marriage agreement and registered it. After delivery, the accused vanished and abandoned the lady. In such a circumstance, she filed a complaint alleging rape. The Trial Court convicted the accused under Sections 376 and 493 of the Indian Penal Code, and under Section 3(1)(xii) of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. In appeal, the High Court of Kerala set aside the conviction under Sections 376 and 493 of the Indian Penal Code, but confirmed that under Section 3(1)(xii) of the SC-ST Act. The High Court observed that the victim had been sexually exploited by the accused by cohabiting with her for years.

The accused therefore approached the Apex Court contending that the reasons assigned by the High Court in rendering an order of acquittal against the offences charged under Sections 376 and 493 IPC, ought to have been extended to the remaining one under the SC/ST Act as well. Opposing this plea, the State submitted that the accused left the relationship with the prosecutrix only for the reason that she belongs to the depressed community and thus Section 3(1)(xii) of the Act does get attracted.

The bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh noted that the accused and the lady were living together for quite some time and that factum of registration of  marriage agreement, also indicates the agreed terms between the parties.

"It is nobody's case that the agreement was forced on the prosecutrix as even the High Court was pleased to observe that it was done voluntarily. Section 3(1)(xii) deals with a case of one party being in a dominant position, exerting such dominance on the will of a woman and thereafter, using it to exploit her sexually. The facts of the case do not attract the aforesaid provision as there is no evidence to suggest that the appellant was in a position to dominate the will of the prosecutrix and thereafter used it to exploit her sexually.", the bench observed.

Case: Shajan vs State of Kerala

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