The Karnataka High Court has ruled that a woman cannot be prosecuted under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which deals with sexual intercourse obtained through deceitful means, including a false promise of marriage.
Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde passed the ruling while partly setting aside criminal proceedings against a woman who had been named as an accused in the case.
The case arose from a complaint filed by another woman, who alleged that she had been in a sexual relationship with the accused woman’s husband. According to the complaint, the man had promised to marry her after allegedly telling her that his relationship with his wife was not cordial.
The complainant further alleged that the husband and his wife had taken photographs and videos of her and circulated them to third parties without her consent. She also accused the couple of attempting to blackmail her.
Based on these allegations, criminal proceedings were initiated against both the husband and wife for offences including sexual intercourse through deceitful means or a false promise to marry, criminal intimidation, extortion and violations under the Information Technology Act.
The woman subsequently approached the High Court seeking to have the proceedings against her quashed.
The Court found that Section 69 of the BNS could not be applied to her, noting that the provision did not cover the circumstances alleged against her.
The Court observed that the woman was herself an accused under the provision, but the allegations did not disclose any act on her part that could attract Section 69.
The High Court therefore quashed the proceedings against her insofar as the Section 69 offence was concerned.
However, the Court declined to interfere with the remaining allegations. On the claims concerning the alleged transfer or sharing of data, the Court clarified that if the investigation ultimately establishes that the woman neither transferred the material nor consented to its transfer, no charge sheet for that offence could be filed against her.
The proceedings relating to the other alleged offences were consequently left intact.