India’s legal landscape has been stirred by a new provision in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)- the New Criminal Law, replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC), which has sparked widespread debate and concern. Section 69 of the BNS, nestled within “offences against women and children,” has introduced stringent penalties for men who engage in sexual intercourse after deceitfully promising marriage without any intention of fulfilling it.
The contentious clause states, “Whoever, by deceitful means or by making promise to marry to a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.”
Previously absent in the IPC, this provision has ignited criticism for potentially criminalizing consensual relationships that sour before marriage materializes. Critics argue that Section 69 may reinforce outdated notions of “protecting” women’s chastity and endorse the idea that consensual sexual relations can retroactively be deemed non-consensual if marriage does not follow.
Dr. Sandhya Ram, an Associate Professor at VM Salgaocar College of Law, Goa, highlighted concerns about the law’s impact on women’s autonomy and the presumption that women consent to sexual relations in exchange for promises like employment or marriage.
Legal experts have raised practical challenges in implementing Section 69, particularly in proving the accused’s “intent to marry” and distinguishing between a genuine promise and a broken commitment. Arvind Singh, a lawyer based in Ghaziabad, noted the subjectivity of proving intent and the difficulty in differentiating between a failed promise and a deliberate deceit.
The law’s enforcement also poses challenges, with questions about the admissibility of evidence such as messages, call recordings, and photographs to substantiate claims of deceitful promises.
Moreover, critics fear that the provision could exacerbate social tensions, particularly in the context of contentious issues like “love jihad,” a conspiracy theory alleging that Muslim men seduce Hindu women under false pretenses to convert them.
As the legal and social ramifications of Section 69 continue in the New Criminal law unfolds, it remains a focal point of debate and scrutiny, prompting calls for clarity and caution in its application to avoid unintended consequences and safeguard individual rights within intimate relationships.