Every Failed Relationship Cannot Be Criminalised: Tamil Nadu Court

Reiterating that consensual long-term relationships cannot be retrospectively criminalised, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed rape proceedings against a man accused of having sexual intercourse with a woman on the alleged false promise of marriage.

Justice B Pugalendhi, allowing a petition filed by Deva Vijay, held that the couple had been in a voluntary relationship for nearly nine years and that continuing criminal prosecution would amount to an abuse of process. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the woman in 2025, alleging that she had consented to sexual relations since 2015, believing the petitioner would marry her, and that he attempted to marry someone else later.

The Court noted that the relationship, which continued till 2024, was clearly consensual, sustained without protest over several years, and involved two educated adults who "consciously entered into a relationship of intimacy". The judge emphasised that "private discord arising from consensual acts cannot be converted into criminal misconduct".

Justice Pugalendhi relied on a series of Supreme Court rulings, including 'Pramod Suryabhan Pawar', 'Deepak Gulati', 'Biswajyoti Chatterjee', and 'Mahesh Damu Khare', which draw a clear distinction between a mere breach of promise to marry and a false promise made with mala fide intent from the very beginning. The High Court observed that there was nothing on record to suggest that the petitioner had, at the inception, made a deceptive promise solely to induce the woman into a physical relationship.

The judge also remarked on the "growing tendency" of invoking rape provisions when relationships turn sour, saying that every failed relationship cannot be given a "colour of criminality".

Holding that the sustained intimacy over nine years made the allegation a misconception of consent "implausible", the Court quashed the proceedings pending before the Judicial Magistrate, Valliyur, and closed all connected petitions.