Maya Dhillon
Men who have sex with a woman by making a false promise of marriage may now face up to 10 years in prison as a result of a new law in India.
The new law targets those who convince someone into sexual intercourse by promising marriage without ‘genuine intent.’
It comes as the country replaces its colonial-era penal code with a new criminal law: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS.)
Section 69 of the BNS states: “Whoever, by deceitful means or by making promise to marry to a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.”
The term “deceitful means” is further defined to include false promises of employment, promotion, marriage, or even cases where a person marries under a false identity.
False Promises of Marriage Have Long Troubled India’s Legal System
While the criminalisation of false promises of marriage (FPM) is new, the issue has long existed within the Indian legal system. Previously, such cases were treated as rape, leading to inconsistent court rulings.
In a notable 2019 Supreme Court case, a man was acquitted of rape charges after being accused by a woman with whom he had a long-term romantic and sexual relationship. The court ruled he had not entered the relationship deceitfully and did not promise marriage without intent.
In contrast, another 2019 case saw a doctor convicted after he reneged on a promise to marry a woman and married someone else instead.
Section 69 of the BNS seeks to resolve these inconsistencies by creating a separate category for FPM cases, though the law has sparked debate.
Some have criticised the law for promoting conservative attitudes about premarital sex and women’s autonomy.
In a blog for the Oxford Human Rights Hub, Mihika Poddar, a DPhil law candidate and tutor at the University of Oxford wrote: “FPM cases raise particular challenges by tethering women’s sexual agency to marriage.
“Labelling FPM cases in particular as sexual offences, as Menon argues, holds sex as legitimate only within the framework of marriage.”
However, Audrey Dmello, director of Majlis Law, a women’s rights NGO in India believes that the new legislation will allow “under-reported” FPM cases to be properly addressed.
She added that the new law empowers women, placing them on par with men.
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Maya Dhillon
Maya graduated from the University of Oxford in June 2022, with a degree in Spanish and Linguistics. She is currently getting her NCTJ qualification at News Associates.