Breaching promise of marriage is not cheating: K’taka High Court

 

Bengaluru: Noting that a breach of promise of marriage by an individual can’t be considered as a crime of cheating under IPC Section 420, the Karnataka High Court quashed an FIR against a Bengaluru resident and his family members.

Hearing the petition filed by Venkatesh, the court bench, headed by Justice K. Natarajan stated that there was nothing in the complaint to prove that the accused had a criminal intention of cheating the complainant.

The woman, in her complaint filed in May 2020 had alleged that that petitioner Venkatesh and she were in love for eight years and he had promised to marry her. However he broke his promise and married another woman.

“It is stated that the petitioner has violated the promise of marriage. But, it can’t be considered cheating if a marriage promise is violated. The aspect of breaking of marriage can’t be included in the purview of Indian Penal Code 415,” the bench noted.

“Criminal case could be filed when a marriage agreement is made with the intention of cheating. But, it has not been established in this case that the petitioner has broken the marriage promise for the purpose of cheating. The girl has not shown anything of that sort and it can’t be a crime under IPC Section 420,” the court further stated in its recent order.