The Delhi High Court has delivered a significant ruling distinguishing between social morality and criminal law while granting bail to a gym trainer accused of rape and blackmail by a woman advocate. Justice Girish Kathpalia clarified that while extramarital relationships might be viewed as immoral by society, they do not automatically constitute a criminal offense if the engagement is consensual. The court emphasized that the judiciary must separate personal liberty and social ethics when determining criminal liability.
The case emerged from allegations made by a practicing lawyer who claimed the trainer drugged and assaulted her, subsequently using compromising photos to extort money and demand sexual favors. However, the court’s examination of video and photographic evidence suggested a consensual bond between the two adults. Justice Kathpalia pointed out that the complainant was not only an adult but a legal professional well-versed in the law, and noted that no incriminating blackmail material was recovered from the defendant’s phone during the investigation.
Responding to the prosecution’s argument that the defendant’s status as a married man and father made the affair a crime, the bench maintained that such factors pertain to morality rather than legal culpability. The court dismissed claims of drugging and extortion, concluding that the relationship appeared to be a mutual choice between two consenting adults. By granting bail, the High Court reaffirmed that individual freedom cannot be curtailed based solely on prevailing social or religious norms.
