Supreme Court Stays Allahabad HC Order To Examine Horoscope Of Rape Complainant

During a special hearing on Saturday, the Supreme Court issued a stay order on an Allahabad High Court judgement that directed the astrology department of Lucknow University to examine a woman’s horoscope to determine if she was a "manglik."

The order was passed while hearing a case where a man was accused of raping a woman by promising to marry her. The accused stated in his bail application that he could not marry her because she was a manglik, which the woman denied. Justice Brij Raj Singh ordered Lucknow University to examine the woman’s horoscope on May 23.

According to Hindu astrology, a person who is born under the influence of Mars or Magala is said to be a manglik, and it is recommended that a non-manglik person doesn’t marry a manglik.

HC Order To Examine Horoscope

A two-judge bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Pankaj Mithal took suo motu cognizance of the Allahabad High Court’s order. The court stated that it doesn’t understand why the astrology report was called for and stayed the order. It further asked the HC to decide the accused’s bail plea based on merit.

It’s unacceptable for a man to indulge in a physical relationship with a woman under the pretext of marrying her and then break up, claiming astrology as a reason. Isn’t it irrational that judgement could vary depending on the findings of astrology? So, if the Supreme Court hadn’t intervened and Lucknow University’s astrology department had found the woman to be manglik, does that make the accused’s act innocuous?

According to the woman’s claim, she alleges that the man raped her with the promise of marrying her. Can a non-consensual sexual act be justified because the woman turned out to be a manglik? If the man was an ardent believer in astrology, did his brain stop functioning when he promised to marry her?

It's highly disturbing that the Allahabad High Court paid heed to his astrology-related claims and went to the extent of directing Lucknow University’s astrology department to examine the woman’s horoscope. If he isn't held accountable for breaking her trust, wouldn't that convey a misleading message to society? Wouldn’t that encourage men to misuse astrology as a reason for ending a relationship after getting what they wanted? If the Supreme Court hadn’t intervened, the man might have probably used loopholes to escape the law, and that would have been unfair to the woman!

The debate over how authentic astrology is or if astrology is a reliable science is a whole different topic. With regard to this issue, the woman has claimed that the man raped her, which is a criminal offence whether or not she is a manglik. Like the Supreme Court pointed out, the case should be dealt with on the merits and not based on astrology. A criminal act can never be justified or trivialised by stating astrological reasons.

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Views expressed by the author are their own