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HC: Woman’s consent for sex doesn’t extend to filming act

Jan 23, 2025 10:35 AM IST

While hearing the case, the judge said that while the first sexual encounter may be consensual, the subsequent acts were allegedly based on blackmail.

The Delhi high court, while rejecting a bail plea, ruled last week that a woman’s consent to engage in a sexual relationship cannot be deemed as a consent to capture and post her inappropriate videos on social media.

The matter arose from a bail plea filed by a 26-year-old man in a rape case filed by a woman in 2024. (Representative/Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The matter arose from a bail plea filed by a 26-year-old man in a rape case filed by a woman in 2024. (Representative/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“Consent to engage in physical relations does not extend to the misuse or exploitation of a person’s private moments or their depiction in an inappropriate and derogatory manner,” said a bench of justice Swarna Kanta Sharma in a judgment pronounced on January 17, released Tuesday.

The matter arose from a bail plea filed by a 26-year-old man in a rape case filed by a woman in 2024, who alleged that the man gave her a loan of 3.5 lakh, but then started blackmailing her and compelled her to comply with his sexual demands. The complaint also mentioned that the man instructed her to undress during a video call and forcibly established relations with her by threatening to make her videos public. Later, she said in her complaint, the man later posted her inappropriate videos on social media platforms.

ALSO READ | Bombay High Court says booking, entering a hotel room does not mean ‘consent for sex’

In his petition before the high court, the man asserted that the allegations levelled against him were vague and false. The plea, argued by advocate Sumit Kumar, claimed that the woman had entered into a consensual relationship with the man and the case is a long friendly relationship turned sour due to a dispute over money. Kumar added that the false complaint was lodged since the woman failed to repay the money.

The police, represented by additional public prosecutor (APP) Raj Kumar said that the man had not only blackmailed her but also captured her inappropriate videos.

ALSO READ | ‘Consent immaterial’: Madhya Pradesh HC says unnatural sex with wife not rape

In her nine-page verdict, justice Sharma refused to release the man on bail while noting that though the complainant had earlier given her consent, the subsequent sexual encounters were no longer consensual and were carried out under duress, as the accused exploited her vulnerability by threatening to post her videos.

“While the first sexual encounter may have been consensual, the subsequent ones were allegedly based on blackmail, with the accused taking advantage of the videos to exert control over the complainant. The accused’s actions in preparing the videos and using them to manipulate and sexually exploit the complainant prima-facie reflects a strategy of abuse and exploitation, transcending any initial consensual interaction,” the court maintained.

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