Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court on Saturday noted that a married woman could not be lured into providing consent for a sexual relationship with a man other than her husband on the basis of a false promise, adding that the act cannot be considered rape. It was stated during the hearing of a case by the single-judge bench comprising Justice Sanjay Dwivedi, wherein the petitioner, Manish Kumar, was accused of establishing a sexual relationship with a woman on the false promise of marriage.
As per reports, the issue took place in 2019 when Kumar met the victim and received information that she was, at the time, undergoing proceedings to obtain a divorce from her husband. He promised marriage after the completion of divorce proceedings and applied vermilion on her head at a temple in December 2019, following which the duo indulged in sex on several occasions.
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Kumar, however, refused to marry her in February 2021, hence, the victim lodged a complaint against him with the police alleging rape. A case was registered subsequently under sections 406, 420, and 376(2)(n) of the IPC, with the Deoghar Chief Judicial Magistrate Court taking cognisance against the accused in November 2021.
The court observed that the woman had voluntarily participated in a sexual relationship despite knowing she was married. "She knows that she is a married woman and marriage will not take place", it noted, adding that despite this, she chose to 'establish relationship'. "...The promise is illegal and cannot be a basis for prosecution under IPC 376(2)(n)" it stated, quashing the previous order and sending the matter back to the lower court, directing the latter to consider the matter afresh.
