No relief for man facing rape charges, body-shaming fiancée before calling off wedding

4 min readNew DelhiJun 22, 2026 05:30 PM IST

The accused and the survivor's engagement ceremony was conducted on March 25, 2023. (AI-generated image)

Underlining that serious offences affect society and cannot be terminated merely because parties have settled, the Kerala High Court has refused to set aside criminal proceedings against a man accused of sexually assaulting his fiancée, body-shaming her, and later backing out of marriage.

Justice Jobin Sebastian was hearing the accused’s plea, contending on the ground that he and the complainant had amicably settled their dispute, and that the criminal proceedings against him were liable to be set aside in the interest of justice.

“The offence involved in this case is obviously not private in nature and certainly has a serious impact on society. Therefore, the compromise said to have been arrived at between the accused and the de facto complainant cannot be taken as a reason to quash the proceedings against the accused,” the June 10 order noted.

Justice Jobin Sebastian was hearing a matter of sexual assault where the offender and complainant had settled the dispute amicably.

Accused fiancé of assault, body-shaming before split

The complainant and the accused were MBBS graduates and had been in love since 2022.

Their marriage engagement ceremony was conducted on March 25, 2023.

On May 13, 2024, the petitioner (accused) sexually assaulted the complainant, stating that their betrothal ceremony had already been conducted.

When the complainant did not consent to the same, the petitioner thrashed her and sexually assaulted her.

Thereafter, the accused, with an intention to outrage the modesty of the complainant, body-shamed her in the presence of her friends and withdrew from the marriage.

‘Parties amicably settled matter’

The man’s counsel advocates R Anil, Sujesh Menon V B, Thomas Sabu Vadakekut, along with others, submitted that the parties had reached an amicable settlement outside the court.

It was added that the complainant had no subsisting grievance against the petitioner, and she had filed an affidavit stating that she did not intend to proceed with the matter further.

The counsel contended that their marriage engagement ceremony was conducted on March 25, 2023, but later the relationship between the petitioner and the complainant became strained due to physical and mental incompatibility since October 2023.

The counsel on behalf of the petitioner submitted that the complainant had filed an affidavit stating that the matter involved in this case had been settled at the time of consideration of the bail application filed by the accused, and taking note of the said fact, the sessions judge granted bail to him after eight days of his judicial incarceration.

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Accordingly, it was argued that as the matter was settled with the complainant, the petition seeking quashment of the criminal proceedings was liable to be allowed in the interest of justice, particularly since the continuation of proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law and a wastage of judicial time.

‘Heinous and serious offence’

While considering the settlement, the Kerala High Court observed that the accused was not seeking the order to be set aside based on the merits of the allegations; rather, he had requested it based on the settlement reached by him and the complainant.

The court noted that in the case, an unmarried lady was allegedly forcefully subjected to sexual intercourse, and it was evident that before the incident, the marriage between the complainant and the accused was fixed.

The court highlighted the specific allegation of the incident, that the accused had forced the complainant to have sexual intercourse with him, physically assaulted her and also body-shamed her in front of his friends.

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Considering the heinous and serious nature of the offence alleged in this case, the Kerala High Court refused to set aside the criminal proceedings against the accused even though the survivor and the offender had settled the disputes.

It was observed that in cases of a serious nature that affect society at large, its jurisdiction under Section 528 (Saving of inherent powers of high court) of the BNSS should not be exercised to set aside the proceedings based on a compromise executed by the parties.

Somya Panwar works with the Legal Desk at The Indian Express, where she covers the various High Courts across the country and the Supreme Court of India. Her writing is driven by a deep interest in how law influences society, particularly in areas of gender, feminism, and women’s rights.

She is especially drawn to stories that examine questions of equality, autonomy, and social justice through the lens of the courts. Her work aims to make complex legal developments accessible, contextual, and relevant to everyday readers, with a focus on explaining what court decisions mean beyond legal jargon and how they shape public life.

Alongside reporting, she manages the social media presence for Indian Express Legal, where she designs and curates posts using her understanding of digital trends, audience behaviour, and visual communication. Combining legal insight with strategic content design, she works on building engagement and expanding the desk’s digital reach.

Somya holds a B.A. LL.B and a Master’s degree in Journalism. Before moving fully into media, she gained experience in litigation and briefly worked in corporate, giving her reporting a strong foundation. ... Read More

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body shaming

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Kerala

Kerala High Court

sexual assault