The Madhya Pradesh High Court emphasized on Friday that a woman's body is akin to a sacred temple, and the dignity and sanctity of her modesty, deeply revered in our culture, must not be violated by anyone.

Justice Prem Narayan Singh made this observation while declining to dismiss a rape case against a man accused of coercing his former partner into a forced physical relationship by threatening to release her objectionable photos and videos.

The Court stated that an individual who violates the modesty and sanctity of a woman cannot be absolved merely on the basis of a compromise reached under specific circumstances.

"A women survives as a mother, wife, sister and daughter etc. of every person. Her body is known as her own temple as she is specifically known for her sacrifices. Her sacrosanct entity is required to be protected in every circumstances. The modesty and sanctity of a woman is always worshiped in our country. No one should be allowed to ravish her and later on, only on the basis of compromise under specific circumstances, allowed to be acquitted, specially when the legislature itself in its wisdom declines to allow such type of compromise," the Court said.

The case dates back to 2022 when the survivor and the accused met and entered into a romantic relationship.

According to the prosecution, the accused verbally expressed his intention to marry the survivor, leading them to travel together to various places and engage in sexual intercourse.

However, the survivor began suspecting that the accused was in contact with other women. This suspicion led to a quarrel, during which the accused allegedly assaulted her and forced her into sexual intercourse. When the survivor resisted, the accused threatened to make her objectionable photos and videos public.

A case was subsequently filed against the accused for rape and criminal intimidation under Sections 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The accused, aggrieved by the charges, approached the High Court seeking to quash the case on the grounds of having reached a compromise with the survivor.

At the outset, the Court highlighted that the offence of rape is non-compoundable. It further observed that the accused had not only sought to establish forced physical relations under the pretext of marriage but had also used threats against the survivor.

Thus, the Court concluded that merely reaching a compromise does not mitigate or nullify the charges, as the offence in question pertains to the dignity of women and involves public interest.

"No doubt, in the present case, the prosecutrix has filed a compromise for compounding the case against the applicant which shows that she does not want to prosecute the present FIR against the applicant. However, in view of the aforesaid discussion and law laid down by the full Bench of Hon'ble Apex Court..., it can be concluded that by simply entering into compromise, charges cannot be said to have been mitigated or quashed as the offence is against dignity of women as well as public interest," the Court observed while refusing to quash rape case against accused.

Advocate Savita Rathore appeared for the accused.

Advocate Chandra Bhushan Pandey appeared for the survivor.

Advocate Surendra Gupta appeared for the State.

Case Title: Rohan Naik and Others v. State of Madhya Pradesh