No room for assault in consensual relation: HC

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that consensual relationships do not grant licence for assault.

The case involves a serving Circle Inspector of Police who was accused by a social worker, also the wife of a police constable, of various crimes, including assault. The relationship between the complainant and the accused began in 2017 when she visited the Bhadravathi police station. By May 2021, the complainant lodged a complaint alleging she was physically and sexually harassed by the inspector.

The situation escalated when the inspector allegedly threatened to harm her children if she did not withdraw her complaint, leading to additional charges of insult with intent to provoke breach of peace and criminal intimidation. In November 2021, the inspector reportedly abducted the complainant, took her to a hotel where he assaulted her.

She sought medical attention for her injuries and filed another complaint, accusing him of rape, kidnapping, wrongful confinement, attempt to murder and assault.

The accused contested these allegations, claiming the relationship was consensual from the start. Justice M Nagaprasanna, acknowledging the consensual nature of the relationship, dismissed the charge of repeated rape but upheld charges related to assault and attempt to murder.

The court remarked on the “gross misogynist brutality” inflicted upon the complainant, allowing the trial to proceed on these counts.