Failed marriage promise after long-term consensual relationship not rape: Court

17-Feb-2026

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The Uttarakhand High Court has ruled that when two adults are involved in a long-term consensual relationship, the subsequent failure to fulfil a promise of marriage cannot be categorised as rape under Section 376 of the IPC unless it is proven that the promise was false from the outset. 

In the case examined, a woman from Mussoorie accused Suraj Bora of establishing physical relations on the pretext of marriage, which he later refused after assuring marriage within 45 days. Following the investigation, the police filed a chargesheet, which Bora challenged in the High Court.

Justice Ashish Naithani stated during the hearing, "The consent given by an adult woman does not become tainted merely because the relationship did not culminate in marriage. To consider it an offence under Section 376, it must be shown that the promise of marriage was only a means to obtain consent and the accused never intended to marry."

The court observed that both parties were in a long-term relationship and engaged in repeated physical relations, which suggested mutual consent rather than initial fraud.