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A bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna said that allegations against the man were based on misrepresentation regarding the complainant’s marital status.
The court also raised objections to the police investigation, saying that the chargesheet was filed in the case without mentioning any of the online chats between the duo (Representative image)
The Karnataka High Court on Monday raised concerns over the potential threats and “dangers of dating applications” while staying proceedings in a rape case against a Bengaluru resident booked on a complaint lodged by a woman he had met through an online dating app.
The complainant and the man met through online dating app Bumble and met in person on August 11 this year after chatting on the app. The two spent a night at a hotel and then the next day, the woman filed an FIR alleging rape.
The complainant had claimed that man had promised to marry her, but the bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna said that allegations against the man were based on misrepresentation regarding the complainant’s marital status.
“There is no allegation even of any forced sexual acts by the petitioner. They were, even according to the complainant, consensual. But the allegation is that the consent for such consensus was taken by force,” the bench said as reported by Bar and Bench.
The court also raised objections to the police investigation, saying that the chargesheet was filed in the case without mentioning any of the online chats between the duo. The complainant’s counsel expressed her desire to withdraw from the case, which significantly influenced the court’s decision to dismiss the charges under Sections 376 (rape), 420 (cheating), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The counsel for the man also argued that the investigation was poorly conducted, a claim the court took seriously. “This case projects the classic illustration of the dangers of dating applications,” the bench observed while staying the proceedings.
The High Court also issued notices to the Karnataka Police and directed the Karnataka government to respond to allegations.
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