Bengaluru: Observing that criminal law should not be used to punish consensual relationships between adults, Karnataka high court has ordered the release of a 19-year-old boy jailed in a rape case and stayed proceedings against him pending before a city court.Granting interim relief on June 23, Justice M Nagaprasanna said the case appeared to stem from a consensual relationship rather than violence or coercion. “A young boy of 19 years confined within prison walls faces dangers far greater than those that await him outside,” the judge noted while ordering his release. Relief granted to the boy and his family members will remain in force until July 30, the next date of hearing.The boy and his relatives had approached the high court challenging an FIR registered by KR Pura police and the subsequent proceedings before the 29th additional chief metropolitan magistrate court. They contended that the criminal case arose solely because the boy was in a relationship with the complainant, also 19 years old.The woman appeared before the high court and stated that the relationship was consensual and that both wished to marry each other. Recording her statement, the court said the question of permitting such a marriage could be considered at a later stage.In his order, Justice Nagaprasanna observed that the circumstances leading to the boy’s incarceration did not arise from “violence, coercion or predation” but from “the tender and often turbulent realm of youthful affection”.“What began as a bond of mutual affection between two young adults has, unfortunately, spiralled into criminal proceedings, drawing not merely the boy but even members of his family into prosecution,” the judge said.The court further noted that, prima facie, there was no material suggesting force, coercion, compulsion or sexual assault by the boy. “The material placed before this court would, at least at this stage, indicate nothing more than a consensual relationship between two individuals who have both attained the age of majority,” the judge observed.He added that while the law must protect vulnerable individuals, it should not be invoked to criminalise consensual relationships between adults merely because they do not meet familial expectations or societal approval.
