This is a very interesting case and Voice For Men India had covered this story anonymously some months ago, when the then accused NRI man had got in touch with us.
This incident should be a big eye opener for all men in India and NRI men, who are planning to marry Indian brides through matrimonial websites.
The Karnataka High Court in its order dated June 07, 2024 has acquitted a man and his entire family from a false rape on promise of marriage and cheating case respectively. The only crime done by this family was that they had called off their son’s marriage within few months, since they saw certain red flags for the woman.
Senior Officer At TISS Arrested For Rape On Promise Of Job To Family Members Of Complainant Staff Member
Case:
Rajiv (petitioner) (named changed) is an Indian working with a shipping company in the US.
The petitioner and his family had found a woman named Isha, through matrimonial website and the couple decided to meet at a local temple in Mysore on January 8, 2023. Within three days of this meeting, the families got the two engaged.
On the day of the engagement, Isha asked for Rs 4 lakh from Rajiv to invest in some fund. The man went ahead and transferred the amount in the hope that she was going to marry him anyway in some months.
On January 12, 2023, Rajiv flies back to the US to continue with his job.
Over a period of next few months, the couple keeps chatting on the phone/whatsapp, where Isha keeps demanding more and more money on the pretext of investments, their home renovation, etc. After sometime, Rajiv gets alerted and the family decides to break this alliance 7-months post the engagement.
Rajiv has been outside India all through this time.
This is when the woman retorted with a fake rape case against Rajiv under Section 376 IPC. Not just the would be groom, but the woman also dragged his parents by filing cheating cases against them under Sections 471, 420, 109, 504 r/w 34 of the IPC.
It Is Difficult For Indian Woman To Live Alone After Failed Live-in Relationship: Allahabad HC Justifies FIR In Rape On Promise Of Marriage Case
Allegations by Complainant Fianceè
According to the fianceè, Rajiv forced her for sexual intercourse on the day of their engagement when they were present at home. The woman claimed that this incident took place when the family members had gone out to buy groceries.
The complainant’s counsel argued that family members from both sides had decided upon this marriage. Date of marriage was fixed. Invitation cards were also printed. After seven months, the family members of the groom called off the marriage. The impact upon the complainant, and her family, was so huge that it would amount to cheating.
Therefore, he said that it was a clear case where the petitioners lured the complainant and her family members into this marriage and have cheated them, by breaking the engagement.
Defense by Petitioner
The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners vehemently contended that the alleged rape incident narrated in the entire complaint is highly improbable. The petitioner submitted that after their engagement, all the family members were very much present at home and thus there was no scope of him forcing the fianceè for any physical relationship on that day.
The counsel further stated that throughout 7 months, the complainant kept on demanding money which made the man’s family suspicious. Following this, they took a call to back out from this marriage. The counsel strongly argued that this cannot fall under the ambit of rape or cheating and that the case filed by the complainant cannot be a better illustration of abuse of the process of law.
Since the chargesheet was filed by the police, the petitioners approached High Court for quashing the matter.
READ ORDER | Can’t Be Rape On Promise Of Marriage If Complainant & Accused Were In Love For Five Years: Karnataka High Court
Karnataka High Court
Justice M Nagaprassana of the Karnataka High Court went through all facts in the case and at the outset commented on the whatsapp chats exchanged between the couple for seven months, when the fianceè was in India and the fiancè was in the US. Justice Nagaprassana observed:
Communications galore between the two, including whatsapp chats. Nowhere in any whatsapp chat even a line of narration is made by the complainant about the 1st petitioner or the complainant indulging in sexual intercourse on 11-01-2023, on the day of betrothal ceremony at 6.00 p.m.
Several differences crop up between the 1st petitioner and the complainant or their families. Engagement breaks. Breaking of engagement results in the subject complaint.
Evaluating whether this case should go for trial, the High Court relied on Supreme Court judgments on what excatly is False Promise of Marriage and quoted:
The Apex Court holds that there is a vast difference between false promise of marriage and promise of marriage or breach of promise of marriage. One cannot deny possibility of the accused making promise with all seriousness to marry the complainant.
The circumstances beyond the control would have prevented to fulfill the promise. It would be a folly to treat each breach of promise of marriage as a false promise, and to prosecute a person for offences punishable under Section 376 of the IPC.
READ ORDER | Can A Man Be Charged With Rape On Promise Of Marriage If He Marries Another Woman? Kerala High Court Grants Bail To Central Government Standing Counsel
The Judge then remarked on whether the family can be charged for cheating as alleged by the complainant. To this, the High Court noted:
For manifold reasons, as averred in the petition, the marriage has tumbled down. It is not a case where the family of the 1st petitioner or the 1st petitioner had lured the complainant or her family members to get into the marriage.
It was an agreement between both the families to perform the marriage of the 1st petitioner with the complainant. Merely because the engagement breaks, at a later date cannot amount to offence of cheating against the 1st petitioner or his family members.
Therefore, there is no warrant to permit the trial to continue any further, as permitting it, would on the face of it, become an abuse of the process of law, resulting in patent injustice.
Accordingly, the proceedings were quashed against the man and his family.
Uttar Pradesh NCRB Rape Report 2019｜57% Cases Account For Rape On Promise Of Marriage
Voice For Men India Take
- Does this story sound anything less than a nightmare?
- Imagine you can be trapped exactly in this same situation, and your family is dragged to the police station and court, just because you exercised your right to say No
- This case is the best example to demonstrate how our rape laws are completely flawed and all failed relationships or broken engagements are also put in the same basket as that of a real rape victim
- When Voice For Men India had spoken to this man in December last year, he had categorically informed us that he never had any physical relationship with the woman, despite this, he was charged as a rapist on mere word of the woman after seven months of their last physical meeting (at the engagement)
- It is ridiculous how we permit women to file rape cases, without any medical evidence due to time lapse, thereby, slaughtering the accused men by stripping them completely of their dignity
- We also believe, that Indian men, are not doing thorough due diligence before saying yes to an alliance
- If a man and his family are agreeing for engagement within 3-days of the first meeting, they are voluntarily jumping in the well
- We are not saying that all background checks are 100% secured, but should that mean that men do not even do basic background checks of the women and their families? Surely, if there are strong red flags, you will be signalled right at the beginning
- We are not shaming the man here, but unless the supply of such vulnerable men stops in the market, the predators in the form of con women and their families will only be on the rise
- While romantic relationships should never begin without trust, retaining your written communication and chats has unfortunately become the need of the hour
- Lastly, even if you get trapped in such a situation, never ever give into the woman’s demands for marriage
- It may take 2-3 years to fight and free yourself from such a false case, but you are only fighting for your peaceful future
- Remember, if she can threaten you with a rape case before marriage, you will be only signing upon your death bond by agreeing to such a marriage
DO WATCH:
No False Promise Of Marriage If Wedding Called Off After Engagement: Karnataka High Court
DO WATCH: Our Earlier Video On This Case
Beware Of Traps On Matrimonial Websites | Voice For Men India
(we may have changed dates in the video earlier for maintaining anonymity while matter was subjudice)
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW:
While entire media has splashed his name, work place and location after acquittal, the identity of the false accuser woman and her family remains intact
— Voice For Men India (@voiceformenind) June 12, 2024
Read full article: #VoiceForMen https://t.co/ZNs5t4Kwj9
UPDATE: Since the order is already public now, the petitioner has given us a go ahead to publish the same.
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