The Chhattisgarh High Court has upheld the acquittal of a man accused of rape and cheating, ruling that no offence of deception is made out when a woman knowingly enters into a relationship with a married man. In a significant ruling, the court observed that if a woman is aware that her partner is already married, she cannot later allege that physical relations were established on the false promise of marriage.

Justice Sanjay S. Agrawal passed the order while dismissing the woman’s appeal against a lower court judgment that had acquitted the accused, Mahesh Ganjir. The Chhattisgarh High Court said the essential element of fraud was absent in the case, as the complainant was fully aware of the man’s marital status.

What The Case Was

The case arose from a complaint filed by a woman from Dongargarh in Chhattisgarh, who claimed that she had married Mahesh Ganjir on May 8, 2008. She told the court that a written marriage agreement was also executed on January 21, 2009, and that the two lived together as husband and wife after that.

The woman alleged that the accused had physical relations with her during the course of the relationship and later expelled her from his house after she refused to give him more money. She also claimed to have spent Rs 85,000 on travel and related expenses during their time together.

Based on these claims, she accused Ganjir of rape and cheating and challenged the trial court’s acquittal before the High Court.

Contradictions In Record

The Chhattisgarh High Court noted several contradictions in the woman’s claims and found material inconsistencies in her earlier statements. According to court records, her earlier legal notices and police complaint did not mention a fixed marriage date. Instead, they stated that the accused had physical relations with her between May and September 2008 on the assurance of marriage.

The court also relied on another notice issued by the complainant, which indicated that she was fully aware that Mahesh Ganjir was already married. Records showed that she even knew the name of his first wife.

This, the court said, weakened her claim that she had been deceived into believing she was entering a legally valid marriage.

Court’s Legal Reasoning

While examining the matter, the Chhattisgarh High Court referred to Section 493 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage.

The court said the core requirement under the provision is deception. It held that where both parties are aware that no valid legal marriage exists, the question of fraud does not arise.

Justice Agrawal noted that the accused’s first wife was alive at the time of the alleged marriage, making any subsequent marriage legally void under Sections 5 and 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act. Since the complainant knew this fact, the court held that she could not later claim she had been misled into believing she was the accused’s legally wedded wife.

Woman Argued Case

The woman argued her own case before the High Court after challenging the trial court verdict. After hearing her submissions and reviewing the trial record, the court found no legal ground to interfere with the acquittal.

The High Court then dismissed the appeal and affirmed the lower court’s order in favour of the accused.

Legal Significance Explained

The ruling is significant in cases involving allegations of rape on the promise of marriage, especially where prior knowledge of an existing marriage is established. Legal experts say the judgment reinforces the principle that consent obtained in a relationship cannot automatically be treated as consent obtained by fraud unless clear deception is proved.

The Chhattisgarh High Court ruling is likely to be cited in similar cases involving disputes over consent, marital status and allegations of inducement, according to officials tracking recent India News Update and Government Updates in criminal law.