Supreme Court rules consensual sex not rape when marital ties break

The <b>Supreme Court</b> on Thursday dismissed a rape charge in a Kerala case, ruling that <b>consensual sex</b> cannot be termed rape when a long‑term relationship ends after nearly seven years. The judgment highlights the judiciary’s tightrope walk between protecting victims and interpreting nuanced legal definitions, exposing a system that often stalls proceedings for years while survivors wait in uncertainty and the police backlog swells. The decision is likely to spark debate on rape law reforms across the country.