Only yes means yes
In 1978, in the infamous Mathura case, the Supreme Court of India acquitted two constables accused of raping a teenager at a police station, holding that the girl must have consented. The trial court had decided that she was habituated to sexual intercourse, and this was enough to doubt her word.
In the case of Bhoghinbhai Hirjibhai, the court said that Western women might be inclined to file false complaints of rape (as they may be neurotic, vengeful, jealous, attention-seeking, gold-diggers etc) but Indian women should be believed, because the social stigma and victim-blaming that would naturally ensue acts as an in-built check on false (and even real) complaints. Some urban elites may be an exception to this norm. This was in 1983.
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Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
