Sameer Amrut Kondekar v. State of Maharashtra
(2023) 1 HLR 717 : (2023) 2 AICLR 710
In the High Court of Bombay
Revision Application 408/2019
Before Justice Bharati Dangre
Decided on March 29, 2023

Relevancy of the Case: Appeal against the conviction in a case involving sexual intercourse on the promise of marriage and sending obscene photos

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 67)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 323, 376)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Section 397)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The complainant and the applicant met through Orkut, and their relationship continued for 8 years.
• The applicant promised to marry her. The complainant consented to sexual intercourse multiple times based on that promise.
• Their relationship turned sour as he did not marry her. Further, the allegations state that he sent obscene images to her and made derogatory statements about her family.
• She registered a complaint for rape, hurt, and transmission of obscene messages.
• The Sessions Court found him guilty of rape on the premises that the parties had intercourse on a few occasions when she did not consent to it.

Opinion of Bench

• The complainant had attained the age of majority since the beginning of the relationship. Hence, it is safe to presume that she is a mature person.
• There is a stark difference between a false promise of marriage and the non-fulfilment of the promise due to unavoidable circumstances.
• It is impractical to believe that the complainant had intercourse with the applicant on every occasion, solely based on the promise of marriage.
• Merely because the relationship turned sour, a party cannot file rape charges.

Final Decision

• The court allowed the revision application and discharged the applicant.

Nikita D’Lima, an undergraduate student at NMIMS School of Law, Navi Mumbai, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in May/June 2023.