According to the complainant, the UP based couple had been in a romantic relationship, but she had "refused to enter into a sexual relationship till marriage".
Her consent was "obtained by fraud" since, in February 2014, the couple went to Manali where they performed "marriage rituals at the Hidimba temple.
The man denied that any marriage took place contending that the live-in relationship was a consensual one while the woman maintained that the consent for sexual intercourse was obtained "by fraud" since she had believed the temple wedding to be a "real marriage."
"Making a false promise of marriage is wrong. No one should falsely promise marriage and break off. But that is different from saying that the act of sexual intercourse is rape," observed the CJI led bench, adding that the top court had "settled the matter" in earlier Judgments.
The woman also raised allegations that the accused man had "brutally exploited" her, and she had to visit a hospital due to injuries caused to her private parts by the man. On another occasion, she had a fractured leg, it was alleged.
"Then you file a case for assault and marital cruelty. Why to file a rape case?" questioned the CJI, who also questioned whether the abuse within a "relationship of marriage" could be considered rape.
The Court proceeded to grant protection from arrest to the accused man for four weeks but declined to pass any orders on his plea to quash the FIR.
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