India, July 30 -- The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed a petition for quashing of a rape case, observing that the woman's consent was obtained through an illegal, surrogacy-like agreement that cannot be considered as valid under law, as it violated public policy.

The rape case was registered on June 26, 2022, based on a complaint from the victim, who had been a domestic worker at the house of the accused since February 2021. A month after she joined, the accused allegedly subjected her to physical assault and rape. He even barred her from stepping outside the house. On June 24, 2022, she decided to leave and demanded her salary from the family, but he allegedly assaulted her again and tried to strangulate her...