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The court held that when sexual relations are based on a promise of marriage to a married woman, such a promise is legally impossible, making the allegation of rape baseless
The Kerala High Court recently quashed rape charges against a police officer, stating that sexual relations based on a false marriage promise cannot sustain if the complainant woman is already married.
The case involved a 31-year-old police officer, Sreeraj K.C., accused of engaging in sexual relations with the complainant woman on the pretext of marriage while allegedly extorting Rs 9.3 lakh from her. The FIR against him was filed under Sections 376(2)(n), 323, 324, 342, 384 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following a complaint filed in February 2023.
The complainant alleged that Sreeraj had promised to marry her and had engaged in sexual relations with her between April and October 2022. However, the counsel for Sreeraj apprised the court that the complainant was already married, had two children, and had never legally separated from her husband. He further contended that the accused had initially been unaware of her marital status and only withdrew his marriage proposal upon learning the truth.
The bench of Justice A. Badharudeen held that a promise of marriage from an already married woman is legally impossible.
"The scenario is absolutely different when the lady alleges sexual intercourse on promise of marriage, is a lady solemnized earlier marriage and continuing the said marriage relationship without being divorced. In such cases, the very promise of marriage is an impossibility and such allegation is only baseless. Therefore, question of misconception also does not arise,"(sic) said the judge.
Additionally, the high court observed that the complainant had a history of fraud, citing multiple FIRs filed against her for allegedly impersonating government officials and duping individuals for money and gold. While these cases were not the primary basis for quashing the charges, they contributed to the court's assessment of the credibility of the allegations.
Given the circumstances, court concluded that no prima facie case of rape or wrongful confinement could be made. Accordingly, court allowed the petition filed by Sreeraj and quashed the proceedings initiated against him.
Case Title: Sreeraj K.C. Vs. State of Kerala
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