The Supreme Court of India recently quashed a case. The case was under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against a man. It ruled that a consensual relationship based on a promise of marriage does not amount to rape. This is true in the absence of concrete evidence.
A Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar, while setting aside the pending FIR in the case Kunal Chatterjee v. State of West Bengal & Ors, concluded that the prosecution failed to prove the case. They could not establish that rape was committed when the prosecutrix was a minor.
“In our considered opinion, there is absolutely no evidence. It pertains to the rape being committed by the appellant when the prosecutrix was a minor. There is definitely no forensic evidence with the prosecution,” the Court said.
The complainant had alleged that she was 15 years old when she entered into a sexual relationship with the appellant on the promise of marriage. However, the complaint under Sections 417, 376, 506 IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act was filed in 2022. This filing occurred three years after the alleged incident. It was also after she had attained majority.
Referring to previous judgments including Prithivirajan v. State (2025 SCC OnLine SC 696) and Pramod Suryabhan Pawar v. State of Maharashtra, the Court reiterated that consensual sex on the basis of a promise of marriage, where there is no evidence to prove the promise was false from the beginning, does not amount to rape.
“Courts can quash such cases where allegations lack medical or forensic backing, especially when the delay in filing the complaint is unexplained,” the Court added.
There was no evidence to suggest coercion or lack of consent. The prosecutrix herself admitted to a consensual relationship. Consequently, the Court allowed the appeal and quashed the FIR.
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