The Bombay High Court dismissed an FIR against a woman who eloped before her wedding, stating there was no evidence of dishonesty or intent to cheat. A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Neela Gokhale referred to the case as a “regrettable situation” involving a young woman who faced difficulties in revealing her romantic relationship to her parents.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a cheating case filed by a Pune man against his prospective daughter-in-law, who eloped with her lover just days before her wedding in 2022 to the complainant’s son.
The court, consisting of Justices A S Gadkari and Neela Gokhale, ruled that “there was no intent on the woman’s part to deceive anyone.” The bench referred to the incident as a “regrettable case” involving a young woman who found it difficult to reveal her romantic relationship to her parents. The court highlighted that neither the woman nor her family had any intention of misleading the complainant or his relatives.
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The High Court detailed the unfortunate circumstances in which a young woman, caught between family expectations and her own feelings, fell in love with someone of her choosing. Lacking the courage to inform her family about her relationship, they misinterpreted her silence as consent for an arranged marriage.
This led to her engagement to the complainant’s son, with a wedding date set for May 1, 2022. In its ruling, the bench, comprising Justices A S Gadkari and Neela Gokhale, observed that the woman and her family did not receive any financial benefit from the situation; rather, they faced defamation and embarrassment after the elopement.
The court emphasized that to prove the crime of cheating, there must be evidence of deception and dishonest intent by the accused. In this case, there was no indication of any dishonesty or intent to deceive.
The High Court noted,
“There is no whiff of any dishonesty or intention to deceive. It is a regrettable case of a hapless young woman who went along with her parents’ decision to marry the man (of their choice), but at the last minute developed cold feet to enter a charade of marriage,”
The bench also stated that the woman’s hesitation to reveal her relationship to her parents cannot be considered “cheating” and does not justify a prosecution.
The court concluded,
“The decision to remain silent can at best be injudicious, but not dishonest,”
The bench stressed that the offence of cheating is not applicable in this case and that, at most, it could be considered a case of defamation against the accused. The court described the situation as an unfortunate series of events where a young woman, defying family and societal expectations, fell in love with a man of her choice but lacked the courage to inform her family.
Unaware of her true feelings, her parents arranged her marriage with another man, mistakenly interpreting her silence as consent for the match.
The High Court noted that an engagement had taken place, with the wedding date set for May 1, 2022.
However, just days before the wedding, the woman eloped with her lover, prompting her parents to file a missing person report. In response, the would-be in-laws lodged a cheating complaint against the woman and her family, accusing them of concealing her relationship and thus defaming and deceiving them.
The woman’s family petitioned the High Court to quash the FIR filed in Pune, asserting that they had no intention to deceive or defame the complainant or his family. The court, while dismissing the case, indicated that the complainant is free to pursue defamation charges if they so choose.