Kerala High Court Quashes Rape Case Against Man Over Marriage Promise to Married Woman

Justice Jobin Sebastian made the observation while quashing a case registered against the man under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to the prosecution, the accused allegedly made a false promise to marry the complainant, who was married, and took her to a hotel where he had sexual intercourse with her after allegedly mixing sedatives in her food. He was also accused of taking nude photographs of her and sending them to her on WhatsApp.

The accused was booked under Section 69 of the BNS and Section 66E of the Information Technology Act.

The man and the complainant later settled their dispute amicably. The accused subsequently approached the High Court seeking to quash the FIR and criminal proceedings. The complainant submitted a statement supporting the plea, while the prosecution informed the court that the dispute had also been settled.

The High Court, however, noted that the allegations were serious and could not be treated as a purely private dispute that could be closed solely on the basis of a settlement. It therefore examined whether the allegations, taken at face value, constituted an offence under Section 69 of the BNS.

The court noted that the complainant was a married woman and had voluntarily accompanied the accused to a hotel room, where they had sexual intercourse.

"A married woman who voluntarily accompanies another man to a hotel room and has sexual intercourse with him cannot, merely on the basis of an allegation of a promise of marriage, contend that the sexual relationship was induced solely by such promise, particularly when her subsisting marriage was not in dispute," the court observed.

The court said the circumstances did not indicate that the woman's consent was induced by a false promise to marry or any other deceitful means. It held that the materials on record did not disclose the commission of an offence under Section 69 of the BNS.

Taking into account the settlement between the parties and the court's assessment that a successful prosecution was unlikely, the High Court allowed the plea and quashed the criminal proceedings.