Supreme Court quashes Section 69 BNS case: a later refusal to marry is not proof of deceit

The Supreme Court quashed an FIR registered in Vadodara under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which punishes sexual intercourse obtained by deceitful means, including a false promise to marry. The complainant alleged that the accused had physical relations with her on the pretext of marrying her and later backed out, saying his mother did not favour the marriage. The Gujarat High Court had refused to quash the FIR.

The Supreme Court referred to Deepak Gulati v. State of Haryana, under which there must be adequate evidence that, at the very start, the accused never intended to keep the promise. Reading the complaint itself, the Court found that the complainant had accepted the accused's advances at their first meeting without saying that she did so only because of a promise of marriage, and that she later stayed with him at a hotel for two days. It held that these statements showed a consensual relationship and no deceitful conduct.

The mere communication of a desire to marry was not deceit. The complaint's own reason for the break-up, the mother's disapproval, suggested that any promise was made in good faith. Finding no reason for the proceedings to continue, the Court allowed the appeal and quashed the FIR.