Himachal Pradesh High Court rules on marriage promise and sexual assault

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has ruled that a promise of marriage may not constitute the offense of deceitful sexual intercourse under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) if both parties are already married to other individuals and are aware of each other’s marital status.

In the case of Vinod Kumar v. State of Himachal Pradesh, Justice Sandeep Sharma granted bail to the petitioner, an astrologer, who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman on the pretext of marriage. The Court observed that since both the petitioner and the victim were married to other people and had not obtained divorces, there was prima facie no possibility of a promise to marry being fulfilled.

The Court noted that the victim had been meeting the petitioner since 2022 and that the complaint was not lodged until June 2026. In granting bail, the Court emphasized the presumption of innocence and personal liberty, also noting that the petitioner had been acquitted in 21 of the 23 previous cases cited by the prosecution.