New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- Observing that "a consensual relationship turning sour cannot be retrospectively branded as rape", the Delhi High Court has quashed an FIR alleging rape and caste-based atrocity, holding that the criminal law cannot be invoked to settle personal grievances arising from a failed relationship.

A single-judge bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma ruled that the material on record clearly indicated a long-standing consensual romantic relationship between the parties, and that continuing the prosecution would amount to an abuse of the process of law.

Leading with its analysis on consent, the Court stated that allegations of rape arising from broken relationships require careful judicial scrutiny, particularly where both...