It is rape if consent given under misconceptions: HC
Times of India | 8 February 2026
Kolkata: Consent under misconceptions is not a valid consent, Calcutta High Court observed on Wednesday while upholding the charges of rape in a 12-year-old case where a married man got into relationship with a 20-year-old promising to marry her if she gave him a child.
The case against the man was registered on Jan 1, 2006, after he refused to honour his promise. His case before Justice Chaitali Chatterjee Das challenged the fast track court's conviction which took place in Jan 2014. He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment along with Rs 20,000 fine.
While every testimony recorded, whether it be the girl's brother or sister-in-law, indicated that she had a consensual relation with the man, Justice Chatterjee Das stated, "It is clear that the survivor had sexual intercourse with the accused on the representation made by the accused that he would marry her. This was a false promise held out by the accused and had this promise not been given perhaps, she would not have permitted the accused to have sexual intercourse. Therefore, whether this amounts to consent or the accused obtained a consent by playing fraud on her…This kind of consent obtained by the accused cannot be said to be any consent because the survivor from the very beginning was under a misconception of fact that the accused intends to marry her, therefore, she had submitted to sexual intercourse with him."
The convict's case rested solely on the ground that the survivor had entered into a sexual relationship with him "consensually" and while knowing that he was married. The girl's counsel refuted this claim stating that since the man is a Muslim and is permitted to have a second marriage, it does not matter if the she knew he was already married.
"It is a clear case of deception from the beginning as the man being a married person only in order to satisfy his lust assured her who was of 19/20 years illiterate and rustic village girl...," the judge observed.
Her counsel contended that at the age of 20 years, she fell in love with the man, had sex with him after he promised to marry her if she gave a child. But when she got pregnant, he refused. Afraid of societal consequences, she revealed her pregnancy during an advanced stage to her parents. After the child's birth, the parents urged the man to marry her but he refused. It's then that a case was filed before Burwan police station in Murshidabad.
In the man's version, the child was born and the family came to him with compromise talk and seeking a huge amount of money; after he denied it, a police complaint was lodged.