The Supreme Court on Monday said that just because a romantic relationship goes bad or partners grow apart, it cannot be a reason to file a criminal case.The court cancelled a rape case against a 25-year-old man who was accused of rape on the false promise of marriage. A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice SC Sharma said that such cases not only put pressure on the courts but also harm the accused's image.

The judges pointed out that not every broken promise to marry should be seen as a lie or treated as rape under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code.They also reminded us that the law should not be misused in this way. The Court  said that the man, who is just 25 years old, should not have to go through a criminal trial, especially when the facts of the case don’t support the serious charges made against him.

The top court cancelled the rape case filed against him and overturned the Bombay High Court’s earlier decision from June 2025. The judges said this wasn’t a situation where the man made a false promise to marry the woman just to take advantage of her.The court also said that the evidence doesn’t support the charges under Section 376(2)(n) (rape) or Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. Even if we assume everything written in the FIR is true, it doesn’t show that the woman was forced to give consent or was tricked only because of a promise of marriage.

The man and woman had known each other since June 8, 2022, and the woman herself admitted that they spoke often and fell in love. She claimed the physical relationship wasn’t consensual, but the court pointed out that she continued the relationship for more than a year and even met him in hotels on two different occasions.The woman accused the man of forcing her into a physical relationship by falsely promising marriage.She had earlier divorced her husband and was living with her 4-year-old son at her parents’ home. The man, a 25-year-old student, lived next door.

She claimed he said he would marry her after her divorce, but later his family refused because of religious differences.The man denied the claims and said it was the woman who showed interest in him, proposed marriage, and often visited his college.