A petition seeking the arrest of a man accused of raping another man’s wife and engaging in unnatural sexual acts was recently dismissed by the Delhi High Court.
The petitioner alleged that his wife was sexually assaulted and demanded legal action.
However, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna ruled that the court could not direct the arrest or registration of a case, citing a previous Supreme Court judgment that extramarital affairs are not crimes or conspiracies. The court observed that such matters fall within the realm of personal morality.
It further remarked, “This is not the era of Maha Bharat. A wife is not the property of her husband.”
The court's stance has sparked renewed public discourse on judicial interpretation and the limits of criminal law in personal relationships. The petition filed by the accused was subsequently allowed.
