Overview
- Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma set aside the FIR, conviction and sentence, describing the use of Article 142 as necessary for complete justice.
- The court personally interacted with both parties and their parents, granted interim bail, and recorded their July 2025 marriage and continued cohabitation.
- The case began with a November 2021 FIR under IPC Sections 376 and 376(2)(n), and a trial court sentence in April 2024 of 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine.
- The Supreme Court ordered the Chief Medical Officer in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, to revoke the man’s suspension from his government hospital job and to pay arrears of salary.
- The High Court appeal was rendered infructuous by the quashing order, and the judgment cautioned against giving a criminal colour to failed consensual relationships.