SC: Consensual relationship between adults not proof of bad character; Telangana recruit to be reconsidered

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that a consensual physical relationship between two unmarried adults cannot, by itself, be used to impugn a person's character.

A bench of Justices Manmohan and Manoj Misra made the observation while directing the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board to reinstate a candidate whose selection as a Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constable had been cancelled over a 2014 criminal case arising from a failed romantic relationship.

The recruitment board had annulled his appointment, citing a rape-on-promise-of-marriage complaint as evidence of moral turpitude. The case, involving a neighbour with whom the candidate had a four year relationship, was compounded before a Lok Adalat in 2015 and no charge under Section 376 IPC was pressed.

The court noted there is no law barring consenting unmarried adults from a relationship and said the mere failure of a relationship to result in marriage does not prove deception. The bench added that, had there been evidence of force or coercion, the board’s concerns might have been justified, but the record contained no material to show the compromise was foisted on the woman.

Reiterating the presumption of innocence, the court observed that the prosecutrix chose not to pursue the matter and led no evidence, so authorities should not infer adverse character findings from the settled complaint. The Supreme Court allowed the candidate’s appeal and upheld the Telangana High Court order directing reconsideration of his appointment.

(Inputs from PTI)