Delhi High Court Acquits Muslim Man in Controversial Interfaith Marriage Case; Here’s Why
The Delhi High Court acquitted a man convicted in 2008 of kidnapping and raping his interfaith girlfriend. The Court ruled that the woman was an adult who had married him willingly under the Special Marriage Act, concluding that she later levelled false accusations due to intense parental and societal pressure against their relationship.
The Delhi High Court has acquitted a man convicted in 2008 for the alleged kidnapping and rape of his minor girlfriend, concluding that the woman was an adult who had entered into a consensual interfaith marriage. Justice Vimal Kumar Yadav overturned the trial court's decision, ruling that the woman had falsely accused her husband during the initial trial because of intense societal and parental pressure regarding their relationship.
A Voluntary Interfaith Alliance Under the Special Marriage Act
The case dates back to 2004, when the couple left Delhi for the man’s hometown in West Bengal to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Following their departure, the woman's father filed a police complaint accusing the man of kidnapping his minor daughter, leading to their eventual return to Delhi and the man's subsequent conviction by a trial court in 2008. Delhi High Court Quashes ‘Unnatural S*x’ FIR Against Man After Ex-Wife Agrees to INR 20 Lakh Settlement.
However, upon evaluating the evidence on record, the High Court noted that the marriage certificate was fully documented and that the woman had lived voluntarily with the man for two months without raising any alarms during their public travels across states.
"What emerges on record is that the prosecutrix had herself, of her own volition not only accompanied the Appellant but, got married under Special Marriage Act. The marriage certificate is part of record. So far as, the age of the prosecutrix is concerned, with the margin of error it can be taken as 18 years i.e. the age when a female can marry and can also have consensual relationship with anyone of her choice," the Court observed in its judgment.
Social Resistance to Interfaith Relationships
The Court highlighted how systemic divisions within Indian society create hostile environments for young couples seeking to choose partners outside their religion or caste. The judgment noted that the severe external pressure generated by these boundaries often forces individuals to alter their testimonies to appease their families. "Fragmented, stratified and deeply divided Indian society across all the classes left no room practically for the young lovers to choose their partners. If the prescribed barriers are to be breach then, the consequences have been so severe that they have had to pay with their lives at times," the Court said.
"In such a deeply divided society, which has not only divided the lives, religion, caste, region or language but even inter-se divisions have been found within a particular social group. In such circumstances, an inter-religious alliance was no less than a sin against such a scenario," Justice Yadav added, explaining that this severe resistance caused the woman to "turn tables and shift the entire blame" on the appellant during her deposition.
Age Verification and Historic Legal Exceptions
The High Court rejected the prosecution's claim that the woman was a minor at the time of the incident. It reviewed medical data from an ossification test, which placed her age between 14 and 16 years, but noted that standard judicial margins of error allow an adjustment of plus or minus two years, legally extending her possible age to 18. Furthermore, the woman had listed her age as 18 in her official statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and her medical-legal case documents. ‘Relationship Appeared Consensual’: Delhi High Court Grants Bail to Married Gym Trainer Accused of Raping and Blackmailing Advocate.
The Bench additionally noted that even if the woman had been slightly below 18 years of age, the rape charges would not hold under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code as it stood in 2004. At that time, the legal framework contained a specific exception stating that s*xual intercourse by a man with his own wife did not constitute rape, provided she was not under 15 years of age. Concluding that her trial testimony was heavily influenced by her family environment, the High Court set aside the 2008 conviction and acquitted the man of all charges.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 24, 2026 08:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
