📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Sumita Roy Dutta
Crime
HP High Court Declares Rape Not an Offence When Both Parties Are Married to Others
✍️ Bar and Bench
🗓 11 Sep 2026, 06:33 PM
👁 20
In a landmark decision, the Himachal Pradesh High Court ruled that rape is not an offence if the victim and the accused are already married to other people and the alleged act was performed on the promise of marriage.
On a recent hearing, the Himachal Pradesh High Court delivered a decision that rape is not an offence when both the victim and the accused are already married to other people and the alleged act was carried out on the promise of marriage.
In the case, the court examined the circumstances surrounding the alleged sexual assault, noting that each party was married to a different spouse and that a promise of marriage had been made prior to the incident.
The court held that under the current legal framework, the promise of marriage can negate the element of non‑consent required for rape, and therefore the act did not constitute a criminal offence.
The ruling, reported by Bar and Bench, may influence how similar cases are treated in the future and has sparked discussion among legal scholars and civil society groups.
In the case, the court examined the circumstances surrounding the alleged sexual assault, noting that each party was married to a different spouse and that a promise of marriage had been made prior to the incident.
The court held that under the current legal framework, the promise of marriage can negate the element of non‑consent required for rape, and therefore the act did not constitute a criminal offence.
The ruling, reported by Bar and Bench, may influence how similar cases are treated in the future and has sparked discussion among legal scholars and civil society groups.