It is like rape: High Court said – taking consent of sex by marrying second without disclosing the first marriage is like rape

The Bombay High Court, in one of its orders, said that if the consent of sex is taken by doing a second marriage without disclosing the first marriage, then it will be prima facie tantamount to rape. Along with this, the High Court dismissed a petition seeking acquittal of a husband from the charge of rape. He also said that there is sufficient ground to prosecute him.

A single bench of Justice NJ Jamadar was hearing a petition filed by accused Siddhartha Banthia challenging the decision of the Additional Sessions Judge. The Additional Sessions Judge had also dismissed the petition of the accused.

The High Court said, ‘Where the man knows that she is not the husband of the complainant, but the complainant consents by reason that she is his wife’.

The photo was printed in the newspaper with the second wife of the husband
The complainant is a Marathi actress by profession. The matter came to light after photographs of Banthia and their wedding anniversary celebrations surfaced in the newspaper. After this the actress had a face-to-face with his first wife.

According to the actress, she met Banthia in 2008 and got married in 2010. In September 2013, a woman claimed that she was Banthia’s wife and had two children. Later, when the actress questioned the husband, he showed the forged documents of divorce. About a year later, when the actress came to know about the truth, she filed a case against her husband under 10 sections of the IPC, including rape and cheating.

The accused claimed that the relationship between them was consensual and they were not married, but the pictures of the wedding were shot in a film. A petition was filed against this in the Sessions Court and said that the allegations against him are contradictory and not clear. As such, he should be acquitted of the charges.