A married woman cannot accuse someone of rape on the basis of a false promise of marriage while her own marriage is still valid.
Why?
A promise to marry someone who is already married is legally impossible — the promise has no enforceable status, and thus cannot vitiate consent.
The Supreme Court in March 2025 explicitly quashed such a case filed by a married woman, observing that because she was still legally married at the time, no promise of lawful marriage could exist.
What the Courts Require for a “Promise‑of‑Marriage” Rape Claim
To qualify as rape under the false promise of marriage doctrine:
The accused must have given a false promise at the very start, with no intention to fulfill it.If the promise was made in good faith but broken later, it does not amount to rape.
Consent must have been induced by deception, not a genuine commitment later reneged upon.
In Simple Terms
If a married woman claims rape based on a promise to marry, but her first marriage was still valid, courts will not treat it as rape.
For a rape claim, the accused must have never intended to marry and must have deceived the woman into consenting.
Breaking a promise made in good faith does not constitute rape
Example Scenarios
A woman is in a valid marriage and enters a relationship with another man who promises marriage—no rape, courts will likely dismiss.
A single/divorced woman is told “I’ll marry you” but the man never had that intention—could be rape, if deception is proven
A man genuinely planned marriage but later things fell apart—not rape, just breach of promise.
Bottom Line
Add Your Heading Text"Married women can’t accuse rape based on a false promise of marriage if their own marriage was still subsisting at the time" — this has been upheld by both the Supreme Court (June 2025) and Kerala High Court rulings. Consent in such cases is considered voluntary and any promise of marriage is deemed unenforceable under law. Here
Published by Pranav Shailesh Lade
Hi, I am the editor of this article, if you find anything offending or wrong in this article you can contact me via gmail ~ lade.pranav2@gmail.com
