The facts in the present case were that the applicant and the complainant were engaged to be married in February 2021. However, due to the lockdown during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, their marriage was postponed to May, which got further postponed after the complainant tested COVID-19 positive.
In the meantime, in June 2021, at a party organized by the applicant for the complainant, the two had sexual intercourse which the complainant claimed to have consented to under the pretext that the couple would be getting married in a few days.
After this incident, the applicant allegedly began avoiding and neglecting the complainant and sought a time period of eight days to fix a date for marriage.
On June 22, 2021, the family of the applicant conveyed to the complainant’s family their disinclination to go ahead with the marriage for the reason that the complainant seemed to be addicted to liquor and “her mental condition is such that she could not be shown pity.”
The complainant stated that the accused established sexual relations with her under a false promise to marry and then by refusing to marry her, cheated her.
Based on the complaint, a first information report (FIR) was registered for offences under Section 376 (rape) and 417 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. The applicant then moved the High Court seeking quashing of the FIR.
Source: Barandbench
