Married Woman: SC Quashes Rape Case Against Man Accused Of Rape With False Marriage Promise
New Delhi: The Supreme Court recently quashed criminal proceedings against a Chhattisgarh advocate accused of repeatedly raping a married woman colleague on the false promise of marriage. The court, while quashing the case, reasoned that the mere fact that the parties indulged in physical relations pursuant to a promise to marry would not amount to rape in every case, Live Law reported.
While hearing the case, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside the Chhattisgarh High Court’s order that refused to quash the rape case against the man.
The court pointed out that an offense under Section 375 of the IPC could only be made if a promise of marriage was made by the accused solely with a view to obtaining consent for sexual relations without having any intent of fulfilling said promise from the very beginning, and that such false promise of marriage had a direct bearing on the prosecutrix giving her consent for sexual relations.
The woman, a 33-year-old advocate and a married mother, had alleged that her colleague established a physical relationship with her starting in September 2022 on the assurance of marriage, adding that the relationship continued until January 2025, during which she also became pregnant and was forced to undergo an abortion.
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As the relationship turned chaotic following a dispute, the woman whose divorce petition with her husband is pending, lodged an FIR in February 2025 under Section 376(2)(n) IPC, which prescribes enhanced punishment for rape committed repeatedly on the same woman. After the High Court refused to quash the case, the accused man approached the top court for relief, which eventually set aside the ruling.
