MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Monday refused relief for a Badlapur resident who took the pretext of incompatible horoscopes to resile from his promise to marry the woman he was in a relationship with.
“It is apparent that that applicant under the guise of astrological incompatibility of horoscopes avoided the promise. Thus I am convinced that the material on record suggests it is a case of false promise to marry which apparently vitiates the complainant’s consent,” Justice Sandeep Shinde said. He rejected the plea for discharge by the man who was booked by Borivli police in January 2013 for rape and cheating based on the woman’s complaint. Earlier, the Dindoshi court too had rejected his plea.
In the first information report, the woman said that they got close in 2012 while working in a hotel. She said the man exploited her physically and mentally and when she conceived, he convinced her to abort and promised to marry her after two years. Later he avoided her.
On her December 28, 2012 complaint, the police suggested counselling. In the presence of his parents, the man assured he would marry her. On January 6, 2013, she withdrew her complaint. On January 18, 2013, he told the counsellor he cannot marry her. The woman then renewed her complaint.
In the high court, senior advocate Raja Thakare, for the accused, argued that it was a case of breach of promise and not false promise of marriage. He said since the horoscopes did not match and being a case of astrological incompatibility, relations could not be furthered.
But Justice Shinde, in his Monday’s order, said, “There is sufficient material to suggest that since inception, the applicant had no intention of upholding his promise to marry the complainant.” He prevailed upon her to withdraw her complaint by promising to marry her, the judge added.
Agreeing with prosecutor Sharmila Kaushik, Justice Shinde noted that had the man’s intentions been bona fide and true, he would not have written to the counsellor within 12 days after withdrawal of complaint and resiled from his promise to marry her. The judge also noted that the “guise” of incompatible horoscopes was taken to avoid marriage.
The HC then concluded that the man’s plea deserves no consideration as facts on record disclose ingredients of rape.
