Breaking Promises, Breaking Trusts; Examining The Offence of Rape Based on False Promise of Marriage

Rape is a monstrous and disgraceful crime that involves non-consensual sexual intercourse with a person. Majorly, the offence is committed against women as compared to men. In many states in India, sexual intercourse with a woman is performed on the pretext of the promise of marriage i.e. the consent of establishing a sexual relationship is obtained through a false promise of marriage. This kind of offence is considered as a rape as it vitiates the woman’s consent and betrayal of her trust by the accused. The reports of the National Crime Records Bureau have revealed that 94 women are raped every day¹  and a major reason for this is the false promise to marry, manipulating a woman into engaging in sexual activities on account of solemnising a marriage with her and this number is only increasing day after day. 

Court’s Handling of the “Rape through the false promise of marriage cases” until the present time. 

1. Provisions for dealing with cases: The Indian courts have traditionally used the provisions under Section 375, Section 376 read with Section 90 of the Indian Penal Code, of 1860, to address such cases. 
2. Defining sections: Section 375 of IPC, 1860²: Defines rape as sexual intercourse with a woman against her will, without her consent or with her consent but through coercion or if she believes the person to be her lawfully wedded husband or if she is under the age of eighteen. Provided that Consent refers to an unequivocal and voluntary agreement where a woman by her words, gestures or any other form of communication, expresses her willingness to participate in the particular act of sexual activity. 
   • The court examines Section 90 of IPC as consent which is obtained through misconception of facts. The present case of engaging in sexual activities on the promise of false marriage falls under the category of consent obtained through the misconception of facts. 
3. Court’s interpretations through judgements: The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in its judgement in a case bearing the title, ‘Dileep Singh vs. State of Bihar’³  held that “It is essential to ascertain the intention of the person to marry to constitute this offence as a rape.” 
   
   • In another case bearing the title ‘Pramod Suryabhan Pawar vs. State of Maharashtra’⁴  the Hon’ble SC⁵  highlighted the importance of the intention of the person making the promise to marry while constituting rape as an offence under the provision. 
   • In Anurag Soni v. State of Chhattisgarh,⁶ the accused had proposed to marry the victim when he already had plans to marry another girl. The accused engaged himself in sexual activity with the victim on account of a false promise of marriage with her. The validity of the victim's consent was deemed compromised due to its procurement under a misconception of fact. Consequently, the Accused was found guilty and convicted of the offence of rape under Section 376 of IPC.
4. Court’s deficiency: The courts tried to differentiate between the concept of a “Breach” of promise made in good faith but not fulfilled and a ‘False’ promise made with the intent to deceive someone. The courts lacked in establishing the relevant provision to deal with such cases, there are round-a-bout provisions to help address these issues but there lacks a concrete and solid provision to deal with the increasing number of cases of rape on account of false promises. 

The advent of new laws and provisions

• The three new criminal laws were introduced by the legislature in 2023, in which the IPC was replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, in 2023. A specific provision to address such issues has been introduced in the respective act. Section 69 of this bill seeks to introduce this change in the law. 

Defining  Section 69 of the BNS⁷ 

• Section 69 in Chapter 5 of the BNS addresses the offence in a categorised manner under a title i.e. “Offences against Woman and Children” describes the ‘sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means etc.’ and further includes two broad categories; one by deceitful means and one by a ‘false promise to marry’ Specifically. The lack of relevant and concrete provisions to address this issue has been addressed through this specific category and deemed useful in handling such cases. Both of these categorised offences are punishable with imprisonment for ten years. 

Necessity for the provision: The courts being unable to address the issue with corporeal provisions, had to rely on different other provisions which caused ambiguity and vagueness in the disposal of the matter quickly and unable to put an end to litigation. 

Implications and Evaluation of Section 69 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

1. Vagueness and discretion: Even though a specific provision is introduced, it still doesn’t limit the ambit and scope of the provision, the discretionary nature of the said provision may cause uncertainty and too much reliance on gender norms, which could end up victimizing women again in itself. 
2. Promotion of Endogamy: It is criticised laboriously by analysts that Section 69 can cause a rise in endogamy as it shifts the focus from the real damage and abuse caused to the woman to only the intention of the man to marry her etc, it is completely overlooking the social aspect in which such relationship occurs. 
3. The Outcomes: The bill could focus on the consequences of the commission of crime but it overlooked the harm and suffering that may have been caused by the woman, which ultimately ends those aggrieved in the inhumane cycle of righteousness remaining evasive. 

Conclusion

To conclude, it is pertinent to mention that the offence of rape based on a false promise of marriage promotes complex legal issues that require meticulous thinking. While it is established that the consent obtained through such malicious intent is not valid, deciding the validity of such content involves a case-by-case analysis and as established in the case Uday v State of Karnataka⁸ there can be no proper definition to ascertain that the consent was given by the victim under a misconception of facts. The court has to carefully evaluate the evidence and surrounding events of the case to arrive at a judgment. 

The rise of live-in relationships and the societal endorsement of pre-marital sex has resulted in an unfortunate increase in the number of cases of false and malicious accusations of rape and this has raised an alarm for the need for a comprehensive legal framework that would effectively handle such cases. 

The proposed Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) of 2023, specifically section 69, embarks on this critical concern of the following sexual relationships founded on the pretext of false promises of marriage. However extreme caution must be practised during the implementation of this legislation to assure that justice is appropriately served without promotion of harmful gender norms. Precedent-setting judgements in history have already marked the importance of striking such balance in this regard emphasising the need to designate such legislation which has been done in the longing of fulfilling the same objective. 

About Author:

I am Narayani Modi, currently in my fifth year of BALLB program at Chaudhary Charan Singh University. I am currently interning at Judicial Disha. Legal research and writing has always been my passion. I am dedicated to explore and analyzing contemporary legal issues. Through my articles, I aim to contribute to justice and law, offering insights and perspectives shaped by my academic journey and experiences.

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1https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/93-women-are-being-raped-in-India-every-day-NCRB-data-show/articleshow/37566815.cms
2Indian Penal code, of 1860
3Deelip Singh @ Dilip Kumar vs State Of Bihar AIR 2005 SC 203, 2004 AIR SCW 6479
4Pramod Suryabhan Pawar vs The State Of Maharashtra AIR 2019  SC 4010
5Supreme Court of India
6Anurag Soni v. State of Chhattisgarh (2019) 13 SCC 1 : 2019 SCC OnLine SC 509
7Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
8Uday vs State Of Karnataka  AIR 2003 SC 1639, 2003 AIR SCW 1035, (2003) 2 SCR 231 (SC)