The Allahabad High Court has declined to halt criminal proceedings against an Aligarh man accused of exploiting a woman for over a decade on the false assurance of marriage, holding that the allegations disclose a clear prima facie case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and must be tested at trial.
The controversy arose from an FIR lodged by the woman in June 2025, alleging that she lived with the accused for nearly 11 years during which he repeatedly had sexual relations with her on assurances of marriage, subjected her to physical abuse, and threatened her into silence. She claimed that she later discovered the accused was already married, rendering the promise illusory from the outset.
The accused approached the High Court seeking quashing of the charge sheet and trial, arguing that the relationship was consensual, that the woman was aware of his marital status, and that prior complaints had been withdrawn. He relied on past Supreme Court and High Court rulings distinguishing consensual relationships from criminal liability based on failed promises of marriage.
Rejecting the plea, the Court held that the factual matrix, particularly allegations that the accused knew from the beginning that he could not marry the complainant, squarely attracted Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which criminalises sexual relations induced by deceit, including a false promise of marriage. Emphasising that the provision is a substantive new offence distinct from rape, the Court observed that “it is a matter of trial to decipher from evidence whether the victim was aware of the marital status of the applicant or whether the promise of marriage was false from the inception.”
Finding that the allegations, if accepted at face value, justified continuation of prosecution, the Court dismissed the application seeking quashing of the charge sheet and proceedings.
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