Saturday, March 29, 2025
In a landmark verdict delivered on Monday, the Supreme Court of India ruled that consensual relationships turning sour cannot automatically be classified as rape—even if the man allegedly made a false promise of marriage. The court quashed a rape case filed by a woman against a 25-year-old man, stating that such matters must not be criminalized in absence of clear evidence of deceit or coercion.
The judgment was delivered by a bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice S.C. Sharma. The judges emphasized that while women must be protected from genuine exploitation, criminal law should not be misused to penalize failed relationships. They warned against the trend of using Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code to prosecute men in every instance where a relationship does not end in marriage.
“Every failed promise to marry does not amount to rape,” said the court, highlighting that imposing criminal charges in such circumstances burdens the judicial system and unfairly tarnishes the reputation of the accused.
The case originated in Maharashtra, where in 2023 a young woman filed a rape complaint against her partner, accusing him of violating her under the pretext of marriage. During the hearings, however, the court found that both individuals had known each other since June 8, 2022, had frequent communication, and developed an emotional relationship over time. The woman admitted their intimacy was consensual.
Based on the record, the court concluded that the complainant’s consent was neither forcibly obtained nor solely based on a marriage promise. The bench noted that consensual intimacy followed by a breakup or disinterest from one party does not constitute a criminal offense.
Justice Nagarathna and Justice Sharma remarked that such misuse of legal provisions not only clogs the judiciary but also causes irreversible damage to the accused’s social identity.
“We’ve consistently cautioned against the misuse of criminal statutes in cases involving personal relationships,” said the bench.
The court also warned that encouraging such cases under Section 376 IPC for failed marriage promises would trivialize genuine incidents of sexual assault, making it harder for real victims to obtain justice.
The ruling is expected to set a precedent for similar cases where criminal charges are filed on the basis of emotional fallout rather than clear legal wrongdoing.
