In Brief
A man promised to marry a woman belonging to a different caste and engaged in consensual sexual relations with her over six years. When he ultimately married another woman, she filed a criminal complaint alleging rape and offences under the SC/ST Act. The Supreme Court quashed the FIR, holding that the allegations did not establish the statutory elements of rape or SC/ST Act offences. The Court found the promise was not shown to be false from inception, the woman continued relations long after the marriage became disputed, and private WhatsApp messages did not constitute public insults. The appeal was allowed because the FIR's allegations, taken at face value, did not constitute cognizable offences.
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