Consent on Promise of Marriage is No Consent, amounts to Rape, rules High Court

The Calcutta High Court has upheld the rape conviction of a married man, ruling that consent secured through a false promise of marriage is legally no consent at all. Dismissing the appeal against a fast track court verdict, the Court affirmed a seven-year prison sentence in a case that underscores how deception vitiates consent under criminal law, even where the relationship appeared consensual on the surface.

The case stemmed from a 2006 complaint by a young woman who alleged that the accused, already married, entered into a sexual relationship with her by assuring marriage on the condition that she bear him a child. When she became pregnant, the man allegedly reneged on his promise, leading to the registration of an FIR.

At trial, several witnesses, including family members, acknowledged that the relationship was consensual. The defence rested its challenge on this aspect alone, arguing that the woman was aware of the man’s marital status and had willingly engaged in the relationship. The prosecution, however, maintained that the consent was obtained by deception from the outset.

Justice Chaitali Chatterjee Das rejected the defence’s claim, holding that the apparent consent was rooted in a fundamental misconception of fact. The Court observed, “This kind of consent obtained by the accused cannot be said to be any consent because the survivor from the very beginning was under a misconception of fact that the accused intends to marry her.” Emphasising that the promise of marriage was a deliberate falsehood used to secure sexual relations, the Court found the conduct to be a clear case of deception rather than a consensual affair.

Consequently, the High Court upheld the conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court.