A man accused of raping a woman by deceitfully making her believe that she is his legally wedded wife has been acquitted by a Delhi court which said girls voluntarily elope with their lovers but to escape their parents' scolding they lodge false case.

"They (girls) voluntarily elope with their lovers to explore the greener pastures of bodily pleasure and on return to their homes, they conveniently fabricate the story of kidnap and rape in order to escape scolds and harsh treatment from the parents.

"It is these false cases which tend to trivialize the offences of rape and undermine its gravity. A girl of this age group (19-24 years), even if belonging to a rural area, cannot be believed to be not knowing how the marriage is performed or what are the essential ceremonies of a marriage," Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat said.

The court's observation came while deciding the case of a man accused of raping his relative who had come to his house to take care of his pregnant sister-in-law (victim's sister).

The police said that in 2008, the accused in collusion with his brother, had taken photographs of the alleged victim in objectionable position with him to blackmail and pressurise her not to take any legal action against him.

When the 24-year-old woman pressurised him to fulfil his promise of marriage, he took her to Jammu on the pretext of marrying her and applied vermilion on her forehead and made her believe that she was his wife, the police said.

He maintained physical relations with her by making her believe that they were husband and wife. The accused had also assaulted the girl, the police added.