The Bombay High Court, on January 30, ruled that breaking a promise to marry due to parental opposition does not amount to rape under Indian law.
The Nagpur bench delivered the judgment while discharging a man from a rape case where he was accused of fraudulently obtaining a woman’s consent for a physical relationship. The court clarified that there is a clear difference between breaching a genuine promise and not fulfilling a false promise.
According to the complaint, the woman claimed she and the accused were physically intimate after he promised marriage. Later, the man got engaged to another woman, leading her to file a police complaint in 2019.
However, the court found evidence showing that the accused backed out of the marriage because his parents disapproved of the relationship. This, the court said, does not fall under Section 375 of the IPC, which defines the offence of rape.
The accused approached the High Court after a local sessions court rejected his plea for discharge. The woman’s counsel argued that the accused had obtained her consent on false pretenses, making it a case of rape. In contrast, the accused claimed he was willing to marry her, but she was not interested. He further stated that she filed the complaint only after his engagement to another woman.
Justice M.W. Chandwani, referring to WhatsApp chats between the two, noted that initially, the accused was ready to marry the complainant, but she declined and said she would marry another man.
The court also cited two Supreme Court rulings that distinguish between a breach of promise and a false promise. In light of this, the High Court set aside the sessions court’s order and discharged the accused from the case.
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