The Supreme Court observed in Pramod Kumar Navratna v. State of Chhattisgarh [2026 INSC 124] that the mere fact that the parties indulged in physical relations pursuant to a promise to marry will not amount to a rape in every case.
An offence under Section 375 of the IPC could only be made out, if promise of marriage was made by the accused solely with a view to obtain consent for sexual relations without having any intent of fulfilling said promise from the very beginning and that such false promise of marriage had a direct bearing on the prosecutrix giving her consent for sexual relations.
What a False Promise of Marriage is
A false promise of marriage occurs when someone induces another to engage in sexual intercourse by promising marriage without any intention of fulfilling it.
The offence of false promise is now criminalized under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) with up to 10 years imprisonment.
It differs from a mere “breach of promise” by requiring proof that the intent to deceive existed from the beginning.
Section 69 of the BNS, 2023, punishes sexual intercourse obtained by “deceitful means,” which explicitly includes making a promise to marry without intending to fulfill it.
Misconception of Fact v Breach of Promise
Previously it was treated as rape under Section 375 and 90 of the IPC (due to consent based on a “misconception of fact“).
Now the new law handles this under a specific section, often distinguishing it from a simple “breach of promise” where circumstances changed, making the marriage impossible.
Prosecution Must Prove Accused Had No Intention at the Outset
The prosecution must prove that the accused had no intention to marry the victim at the time the promise was made, and that the consent was obtained solely through this deceit.
Courts have noted that Section 69 punishes active deceit rather than the mere failure to marry due to later circumstances or disagreements.
If the relationship lasted for a long time without marriage, it may be harder to prove the initial consent was obtained solely through a false promise.
Cases are often analyzed based on whether the promise was fraudulent from the inception or if it was a genuine intention that failed later.
