India, June 8 -- The Supreme Court of India has ruled that a physical relationship between two consenting unmarried adults cannot, by itself, be treated as a basis to question a person's character or moral conduct.

A bench comprising Justices Manmohan and Manoj Misra made the observation while directing the Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board to reconsider the appointment of a candidate whose selection as a police constable had been cancelled over allegations linked to a past romantic relationship.

The case stemmed from a complaint of rape on the promise of marriage filed in 2014 arising out of a relationship between the candidate and his neighbour. However, the matter was later settled and compounded before a Lok Adalat in 2...