Family ‘opposed marriage over caste’: Calcutta High Court upholds rape acquittal

The Calcutta High Court has upheld a trial court's order acquitting a rape accused, stating that the prosecution failed to prove the man had made a false promise of marriage to obtain the woman's consent for a physical relationship. The accused's family opposed the marriage due to her caste, according to the court. The woman, who was 19 years old, alleged that the accused had promised to marry her since she turned 19 and that she entered into a physical relationship with him in 2011, believing this promise.

However, the man allegedly avoided marrying her after their physical relationship began. The woman left her home voluntarily to marry the accused in Ambala, but was apprehended by the police. The court emphasized the difference between a false promise made in bad faith and a genuine promise that is later not fulfilled, noting that the woman was a consenting party to the relationship.