India: Women must prove men’s intent to not keep promise of marriage to establish rape

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Supreme Court on Wednesday clarified that sex on the false promise of marriage does not automatically amount to rape. The judgment given by Justices DY Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee states: “The promise of marriage must have been a false promise, given in bad faith and with no intention of being adhered to at the time it was given. The false promise itself must be of immediate relevance or bear a direct nexus to the woman's decision to engage in the sexual act.”

The court made the distinction between the breach of a promise and deceiving the woman. The judgment stated that in a situation where the promise made is false and was made with the intention of deceiving the woman, it is not consensual. On the other hand, the judges said that a breach of promise cannot be a false promise.

“To establish a false promise, the maker of the promise should have had no intention of upholding his word at the time of giving it. The ‘consent’ of a woman under Section 375 [Rape] is vitiated on the ground of a ‘misconception of fact’ where such misconception was the basis for her choosing to engage in the said act,” the judgment stated.'