The Supreme Court of India has set aside the rape conviction of a man, Sandeep Singh Thakur, observing that a consensual relationship that had turned acrimonious had been wrongly given a “criminal colour”.
The bench, comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, used their extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to quash the conviction and the 10-year prison sentence previously upheld by lower courts.
The case reached the apex court as a bail plea after the Madhya Pradesh High Court had rejected the man’s application for the suspension of his sentence. During the proceedings, the bench noted the deep history of the relationship, which began on a social media platform in 2015. Remarking on the nuances of the case, the judges stated that they had a “sixth sense” that the accused and the complainant were not beyond reconciliation.
Acting on this intuition, the court suggested that the parties attempt to resolve their differences through marriage. Following a personal interaction in the judges’ chambers, which included the couple and their parents, the parties expressed a willingness to wed. The man was subsequently granted bail to facilitate the ceremony, and the couple married in July 2025.
Upon reviewing the final status of their married life in December, the court found the couple living happily together. The bench observed that the original criminal complaint, filed in 2021, was likely the result of “insecurity” on the part of the woman after the man sought to postpone their wedding date.
The court held that the case was a classic instance of a failed consensual relationship being misinterpreted as a “false promise of marriage”. The judgment emphasised that treating every sour relationship as a criminal offence not only trivialises the gravity of rape but also inflicts an “indelible stigma” on the accused.
Furthering the reach of “complete justice,” the court directed the Chief Medical Officer of Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, to revoke the man’s suspension from his government hospital job. The authorities were ordered to pay all arrears of his salary, effectively restoring his professional life alongside his personal liberty.