Court case(1996) 1 SCC 490

Subhra Chakraborty, a student of a college in Kohima, complained that Bodhisattwa Gautam, her lecturer, had induced her into a sexual relationship on a promise of marriage, gone through a sham marriage ceremony before the sacred fire in his house, made her pregnant twice and forced her to abort both times, and then deserted her. She filed a complaint for offences under ss. 312, 420, 493, 496 and 498A IPC. The lecturer sought to have the proceedings quashed; the Gauhati High Court refused, and he appealed to the Supreme Court.

The appeal was dismissed. The Court described rape as a crime against basic human rights and a violation of the victim's most cherished fundamental right, the right to life under Article 21, which includes the right to live with dignity. Relying on Delhi Domestic Working Women's Forum v. Union of India (1995), it held that the court's jurisdiction to award compensation at the end of the trial carries with it the power to award interim compensation. The lecturer was ordered to pay Rs 1,000 a month to the complainant from the date of the complaint until the trial ended.