In Brief
The appellant, a social worker, was accused of rape (Section 376 IPC), cheating (Section 420 IPC), and criminal intimidation by a woman with whom he had maintained an approximately nine-year extramarital relationship while married to others. The woman claimed non-consensual sexual relations based on a false promise of marriage. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal to quash the FIR, holding that no prima facie case of rape was made out. The Court found the prolonged consensual relationship—maintained without protest, insistence on marriage, or early complaint—inconsistent with a false promise made from the outset. A mere breach of promise, after years of silence, cannot retroactively criminalize consensual conduct. Permitting such proceedings constituted abuse of process.
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