Supreme Court’s big decision: Will consensual relationships now be considered evidence of “character flaw”? Does every relationship automatically become “cheating” if there is no marriage? Can broken relationships decide jobs and morals? Can someone be held guilty just by presumption without proof?
Supreme Court: The Supreme Court of the country has given a revolutionary decision which will completely change every rule from criminal cases to government jobs in the coming times. The Supreme Court has directly challenged the old, conservative and strict notions of the society which used to judge someone’s character on the basis of unsuccessful personal relationships. Answering a very sensitive question standing at the intersection of pre-marital relations, mutual consent and personal freedom, the Supreme Court made it clear that consensual physical relations between two unmarried adults cannot be a yardstick to judge someone’s character.
Is a broken relationship in itself a ‘cheating’? Big question of Supreme Court
The bench of Justices Manmohan and Manoj Mishra went into depth and heard a dispute which was stuck between social stigma and legal maneuvers. The court strongly warned against this dangerous trend in which a person is considered guilty merely because his love affair did not eventually lead to marriage. As reported by ‘Bar & Bench’, the court was very clear in its decision: “A physical relationship between two consensual unmarried adults cannot and should not in itself be a basis for forming any negative opinion about the character of the person involved in that relationship. There is no law that prevents two adults from pursuing a relationship of their own choice. Not every relationship turns into marriage. Therefore, just because the relationship did not turn into marriage, there is no ground to believe that one party cheated the other.” Is.”
That ten year old police recruitment controversy, which forced the law to think
This historic comment came when the Supreme Court was deciding the fate of Gajula Thirupati, a police constable recruitment candidate from Telangana. More than a decade ago, Thirupathi was provisionally selected for the post of ‘Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constable’. He had honestly stated in his application that in 2014, a criminal case was registered against him for his relationship with a woman neighbor. However, in 2015, a mutual agreement was reached between the two parties and the matter was settled once and for all in the Lok Adalat. Despite this, the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board considered this old case as ‘moral turpitude’ and canceled his selection. This dispute passed through several levels of the judiciary and finally reached the Supreme Court, where the Court made it clear that the Lok Adalat settlement cannot be considered as an admission of crime.
New reality of changing times: Institutions will have to leave old thinking
The Supreme Court, while showing the mirror to all the administrative and government institutions of the country, said that social realities have now changed rapidly. Officers should be sensitive to today’s changing society while assessing people’s conduct, and not rely on old and rigid notions. The court reiterated that when two adults live in a relationship with each other for years, it is clearly a matter of mutual consent. In such cases, one’s career and character cannot be destroyed on the basis of allegations like ‘false promise of marriage’ made later.
Consent, personal freedom and modern India: Rules will not be based on guesswork
The real significance of this decision lies not just in the restoration of Gajula Thirupathi’s job, but in the broader message that it protects the personal freedom of crores of youth of the country. This decision has come as a shield for the people who have been suffering the social and legal consequences of broken relationships for years. The Supreme Court has strongly cautioned employers and institutions like the Police Recruitment Board that they cannot form negative opinions about the character of a candidate merely on the basis of guesses and speculations. This decision given on the changing nature of relationships and personal freedom in modern India will prove to be a milestone in the legal history of the country.