Bombay High Court: Refusing Marriage After Years of Relationship is Not Cheating
After 25 years, the Bombay High Court has cleared a Palghar man accused of cheating a woman by having a sexual relationship with her under the promise of marriage. The court ruled that just refusing to marry does not count as cheating under the Indian Penal Code (Section 417) unless there was a false promise made from the beginning.
The case began in 1996 when the woman filed a complaint saying the man had a physical relationship with her for years, promising to marry her but later backing out. In 1999, a local Palghar court found him guilty and sentenced him to one year in jail and a ₹5,000 fine.
However, the High Court found there was no clear proof that the woman had sex with the man due to a false belief that he would marry her. The judge, Justice Prabhudessai, stated that the woman’s testimony did not show that her consent was based on any fraudulent promise. Even her sister confirmed the two were in love, but there was no evidence of trickery or a fake intention to marry from the beginning.
The judge added that simply refusing to marry, without dishonest intention at the start, doesn’t qualify as cheating under Section 417 IPC. Also, Section 90 IPC, which deals with consent obtained through fraud, did not apply in this case.
Since there was no legal basis to prove cheating, the man was acquitted.
