Kerala High Court Rules Broken Marriage Promises Don't Always Constitute Rape: Legal Clarification on Consent and Relationships

The Kerala High Court ruled on Tuesday that terminating a relationship or subsequently marrying someone else does not automatically transform a previously consensual sexual relationship into rape.

Justice G Girish clarified that when a man chooses to marry another individual while seeking "greener pastures," this decision does not legally convert his prior consensual relationship with another woman into rape.

The Court was addressing a petition from a man facing accusations under Sections 376 (rape), 493 (cohabitation by deceit), and 496 (fraudulent marriage ceremony) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The man was alleged to have maintained a long-term relationship with a woman under the promise of marriage but eventually wed another person instead.

According to prosecutors, their relationship began in 2009, when the complainant was already married with two children.

Following her husband's death in 2013, the accused began cohabiting with her and continued their relationship.

The complainant believed they were married after he tied a knot on her gold chain during a private symbolic ceremony.

However, the accused legally married another woman in 2014.

When confronted about this, he reassured the complainant that he still considered her his wife.

The relationship ended in 2017, after which she filed criminal charges alleging rape and fraudulent marriage.

In its assessment, the High Court observed that the relationship between the parties was clearly consensual and not induced through fraudulent marriage promises.

The court stated that for a sexual relationship to be classified as rape based on false marriage promises, evidence must show that the man never intended marriage from the beginning and made deceptive promises solely to exploit the woman sexually.

Additionally, the court noted that since their relationship commenced while the woman was legally married, this undermined her claim of being misled regarding future marriage prospects with the accused.

Referencing multiple Supreme Court judgments, the court maintained that consensual intimacy based on emotional involvement or future intentions cannot constitute rape unless deception is established from the relationship's inception.

Regarding charges under Sections 493 and 496 of the IPC, the court clarified that such offenses require the aggrieved person to file a formal complaint, which had not occurred in this case.

Consequently, the court dismissed all criminal proceedings against the man.