The Allahabad High Court has held that criminal proceedings under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, alleging sexual relations on a false promise of marriage, may be quashed at the pre-trial stage where the allegations fail to establish dishonest intent from the very inception. The Court emphasised that a mere breakdown of a relationship or non-fulfilment of a promise to marry, by itself, does not attract criminal liability. The judgment draws an important distinction between genuine cases of deception and consensual relationships that subsequently fail.
