The Supreme Court of India has determined that consensual physical relationships between unmarried adults do not constitute valid evidence of poor character for employment purposes.

印度最高法院判定，未婚成年人之間的合意身體關係，不構成就業目的下品格不佳的有效證據。

The litigation originated from the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board's decision to rescind the provisional selection of Gajula Thirupathi for the position of Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constable. This administrative action was predicated on a 2014 criminal complaint filed by a neighbor, who alleged that the candidate had entered a multi-year relationship under the premise of marriage before subsequently marrying another individual. Although the candidate had proactively disclosed the legal proceedings in his application, the recruitment authorities characterized the incident as an instance of moral turpitude.

本訴訟源於 Telangana 州級警察招募委員會決定撤銷 Gajula Thirupathi 作為津貼實習警員候補的資格。此行政處分是基於一名鄰居於 2014 年提出的刑事申訴，指控該候選人在承諾結婚的前提下建立了多年的關係，隨後卻與另一人結婚。儘管候選人在申請書中主動披露了相關法律程序，但招募機關仍將此事件定格為品格低劣（moral turpitude）。

Procedurally, the matter had been resolved via a compromise at a Lok Adalat in 2015, resulting in the compounding of the offense. While a single judge of the Telangana High Court initially ordered the candidate's appointment, a subsequent Division Bench reversed this decision, asserting that a settlement did not equate to a 'clean acquittal' and that the Board maintained discretionary authority over suitability for disciplined forces. This judicial trajectory was interrupted by the Supreme Court's intervention.

在程序上，此案已於 2015 年透過 Lok Adalat 的和解方案解決，導致該罪行被合併處理。雖然 Telangana 高等法院的一名單任法官最初命令錄用該候選人，但隨後的合議庭（Division Bench）推翻了此決定，主張和解並不等同於「完全獲判無罪」，且委員會對紀律部隊的適任性擁有酌情決定權。此司法進程隨後由最高法院介入而改變。

In its analysis, the Supreme Court emphasized that the presumption of innocence remains operative unless guilt is established through legal process. The Court noted that the absence of rape allegations and the voluntary nature of the settlement—absent any evidence of coercion—rendered the Board's conclusions logically deficient. Furthermore, the Court posited that the failure of a romantic relationship to culminate in marriage does not inherently imply deception. Consequently, the Court asserted that authorities must align their assessments with contemporary social realities, whereby consensual adult relationships are neither legally prohibited nor indicative of a lack of integrity.

在分析中，最高法院強調，除非透過法律程序證明有罪，否則無罪推定原則依然有效。法院指出，在缺乏強姦指控且和解屬自願性質（無任何脅迫證據）的情況下，委員會的結論在邏輯上存在缺陷。此外，法院認為一段浪漫關係未能以婚姻告終，並不必然意味著欺騙。因此，法院主張主管機關的評估必須符合當代社會現實，即成年人的合意關係既不被法律禁止，也不代表缺乏誠信。

The Supreme Court has set aside the Division Bench's judgment and ordered the appointment of the candidate, ruling that personal morality cannot supersede objective legal standards in recruitment.

最高法院撤銷了合議庭的判決並命令錄用該候選人，裁定在招募過程中，個人道德不能超越客觀的法律標準。