Uttarakhand HC: Ending marriage promise doesn't mean rape
The Uttarakhand High Court has said that breaking off a promise to marry doesn't count as rape under Indian law—unless the promise was a lie from the start.
This came after a Mussoorie woman accused Suraj Bora of having a relationship with her for years, saying he'd marry her but didn't follow through.
She filed an FIR in 2022 (the chargesheet was filed on April 5, 2022).
Court explains why continuing case would be unfair to accused
Justice Ashish Naithani quashed all charges, explaining that consent in long-term adult relationships stays valid even if marriage doesn't happen later.
The court made it clear: for something to be considered rape here, there must be proof that the marriage promise was fake from day one just to get consent.
Without initial deception, it's not rape—just a broken promise—and continuing the case would be unfair to the accused.