Consent For Sexual Relations Given At A Point Does Not Extend To Sharing Inappropriate Videos On Social Media: Delhi High Court
A married woman had accused a man of blackmailing and sexually exploiting her.
The Delhi High Court has ruled that a woman’s consent to engage in sexual relations does not extend to the recording or sharing of her private moments, especially when such content is later posted inappropriately on social media.
Factual Background
This decision came in the context of a case where a married woman had accused a man of blackmailing and sexually exploiting her. According to the woman’s complaint, the man had initially provided her with financial assistance to enroll in a course, with the understanding that she would repay him once she found employment. However, after this initial financial transaction, the accused allegedly started pressuring her into complying with his sexual demands by using the money as leverage.
The woman stated in the First Information Report (FIR) that the accused coerced her into engaging in inappropriate acts, including undressing during WhatsApp video calls, and showing her a video of herself in a compromising position. The man allegedly forced her to engage in sexual relations for two consecutive days under the threat of making these videos public. Furthermore, the accused is said to have defamed the woman by sharing these videos with people in her hometown and, eventually, posting them on social media, subjecting her to significant humiliation and emotional trauma.
A Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma clarified, “Even if the consent for sexual relations had been given at any point of time by the complainant, such consent cannot, in any manner, be construed as consent to capture and post her inappropriate videos on social media platforms,”
Advocate Sumit Kumar appeared for the Petitioner and Advocate Raj Kumar appeared for the Respondent.
Reasoning
The High Court noted that even if the first instance of sexual interaction between the woman and the man had been consensual, the subsequent actions of the accused were clearly coercive and based on blackmail. The Court found that the accused’s actions in recording and distributing these videos were part of an exploitative strategy, demonstrating a clear shift from consensual to abusive behavior. The Court emphasized that the man’s use of the videos to manipulate and control the woman, with the explicit threat of public exposure, represented a serious violation of her privacy and dignity.
The Court also dismissed the notion that the relationship between the accused and the complainant could be classified as a simple "friendship," where financial help was extended out of goodwill. Instead, the Court observed that the accused had taken advantage of the financial arrangement to manipulate and exploit the woman. The Court reiterated that even in a loan arrangement between friends, one party has no right to use the other’s vulnerability for personal or sexual gain.
Additionally, the Court criticized the accused’s attempt to downplay the severity of the allegations by invoking the woman’s marital status and professional background. The Court called this attempt an unacceptable strategy to undermine the gravity of the allegations and discredit the complainant’s account of events.
In rejecting the bail plea, the Court also directed the Director of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to prioritize the preparation of the forensic report for the case, ensuring that it was delivered to the investigating officer without delay.
Cause Title: Sudhir Kumar v. The State of NCT of Delhi, [2025:DHC:319]
