The Uttarakhand High Court has quashed a rape case against a man accused of engaging in a consensual relationship on a promise of marriage, ruling that a failed commitment between adults does not automatically amount to rape under Section 376 of the IPC. The Court held that criminal liability arises only when it is shown that the promise was dishonest from the very inception, an important clarification in cases involving consensual relationships that later break down.
The case involved Suraj Bora, against whom an FIR was lodged by a woman from Mussoorie alleging that he established physical relations with her after promising to marry her within 45 days, but later refused. Following a chargesheet filed in July 2023, Bora approached the High Court seeking quashing of the proceedings pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dehradun.
The defence argued that the relationship was consensual and that the FIR did not disclose any material to suggest fraudulent intent at the outset. The State and the complainant opposed the plea, contending that the woman’s consent was rooted in the assurance of marriage and that the accused’s intention could only be tested at trial.
Justice Ashish Naithani examined whether the allegations, even if accepted at face value, disclosed the essential ingredients of rape based on false promise of marriage. The Court underscored that the law distinguishes between a deliberate deception and a relationship that later collapses. It observed, “The consent given by an adult woman does not become tainted merely because the relationship did not culminate in marriage.”
Emphasising that prosecution under Section 376 requires proof that the promise was a mere tool to obtain consent with no intention to marry from the beginning, the Court found the record lacking such foundational allegations.
Concluding that continuation of proceedings would amount to abuse of process, the High Court quashed the criminal case.
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