The Bombay High Court ruled on January 30 that breaking a marriage promise due to parental opposition does not amount to rape. This decision came from the Nagpur bench while discharging a man accused of fraudulently obtaining a woman’s consent for a sexual relationship.
The court clarified that there is a distinction between breaching a promise and not fulfilling a false promise. The case involved a woman who claimed that she and the accused became physically involved after he promised to marry her. However, he later got engaged to another woman, prompting her to approach the police in 2019.
Citing evidence, the court ruled that the man’s withdrawal from his marriage commitment due to his parents’ disagreement does not qualify as an offence under Section 375 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The accused had sought relief from the high court after a local sessions court rejected his application for discharge from the case. The woman’s counsel argued that the accused had obtained her consent on false premises, which should be considered rape under Section 375 IPC.
The accused countered that he had initially agreed to marry the complainant, but she was not interested. It was only after he got engaged to another woman that she lodged the complaint. Justice M.W. Chandwani, part of the Bombay High Court bench, stated, “WhatsApp chats between the applicant and the victim indicate that the applicant was initially willing to marry the victim, but she declined and informed him that she would marry another boy.”
Justice Chandwani also referenced two Supreme Court judgments, highlighting the distinction between merely breaching a promise and not fulfilling a false promise. Consequently, the high court quashed the sessions court’s order rejecting the accused’s discharge application and discharged him from the case.
This ruling underscores the importance of differentiating between broken promises and false promises in the context of consent and legal interpretations of rape.
Case Title: Breach of Marriage Promise Due to Parental Opposition Is Not Rape, Says Bombay HC
