Justice Pratibha Rani passed the order on a man's plea seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against him for repeatedly raping a woman, hurting and criminally intimidating her.
The court said, "In view of settled legal position..., the criminal proceedings emanating from an FIR registered with allegations of rape, which is an offence against society, despite the alleged marriage of the man with the complainant woman, cannot be quashed in exercise of powers vested in this court under CrPC."
Contending that the case registered in November 2016 was frivolous and was a result of a misunderstanding, he demanded that it be quashed.
As per the prosecution, the two had been in a relationship since 2005. However, the relation was opposed by their families on caste consideration, after which the man married someone else in July 2012. Later he divorced his wife in 2015 and again came close to the woman.
The court, however, noted whether the mere fact that the parties have allegedly got married should be a reason good enough to quash the rape charges. On appreciation of several precedents, the high court answered this question in the negative and dismissed the plea.