Gujarat High Court: In Gujarat, a woman accused her husband of rape, which was rejected by the High Court. The whole matter is that a New Zealand woman of Indian origin married an NRI registered in New Zealand in May 2013. The woman had alleged that the man forcibly had sex with her by hiding his previous marriage. After marriage, both of them lived together for the next six months i.e. till November 2013 and then her husband returned to India.
Woman accuses husband of rape
Even after her husband returned, the woman continued to come to India. Later she came to know that her husband had already been married and that is why she had filed a case in September 2024. After this her husband was arrested, but he got bail after only a week. However, even after this they continued meeting each other. In the FIR, the woman said that her husband had raped her in a hotel in Navsari.
The man’s lawyer said that the man’s second marriage is valid because he is a Muslim and hence the rape allegation becomes invalid. The woman’s lawyer contested this and argued that since the victim’s marriage with the man was illegal, it constituted an offense under section 376 of the IPC when she had physical relations with him in Navsari in September 2014. .
Gujarat High Court’s decision
On this, Justice Umesh Trivedi, referring to the fact, said, “The woman later married a person of her choice and was not interested in criminal proceedings. She got the marriage registered in New Zealand and then the husband and wife Be it legal or illegal, the physical relationship was consensual.” The judge said that what is emerging from the FIR is that even after the woman came to know that the man was already married, she still met him from time to time and continued her old relationship.
The judge said, “It has been claimed in the FIR that the woman also provided financial assistance to the man from time to time. However, without considering whether this is so or not, it can be completely assumed that she (the woman) “She still wanted to have a relationship with her husband, even though she knew he had been married before.”
