Sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means

A new provision is proposed to be added in The Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which is Sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means, etc, in Section 69 of the Sanhita. The said section states –

Whoever, by deceitful means or making by a promise to marry a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, and 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

Explanation.––– “deceitful means” shall include the false promise of employment or promotion, inducement or marring after suppressing identity.

Thankfully the said section has acceded to the outcry that intercourse on the pretext of marriage is not rape. The said section addresses situations where a person engages in sexual activity with a woman by making false promises to marry her or any other deceitful means, even though the said person has no genuine intention of fulfilling that promise.

This criminal act involves three main ingredients:

1. Using deceitful means Or promise of marriage to a woman
2. Engaging in sexual intercourse with the woman based on those deceitful promises.
3. The person never had genuine intention of fulfilling the same.

Deceitful means include false promises of employment or promotion, any other inducements, or harm or damage after suppressing identity.

The explanation would cover a lot of sexual activities in which a woman had willingly had sex for purposes of employment, promotions, or any other inducements or scenarios of love jihad where a person has suppressed his real identity or religion.

This section explicitly states that the sexual intercourse in question does not amount to the offence of rape. Ipso facto, the described does not meet the legal criteria for rape as defined in the relevant Samhita.

The explanation of “Deceitful Means” is still a subject matter of evolution through judicial pronouncements. On the face of it, wilful sexual intercourse by a woman for employment or promotion or with a person who has hidden his true identity is a crime under this section.

Also, to be found guilty of this offence, the prosecution needs to prove that the person making the promise does so with the specific intent of deceiving the woman and inducing her into engaging in sexual intercourse based on those promises.

The punishment defined for this section is up to a maximum of ten years, and in addition to imprisonment, the offender is liable to pay a fine. The offence does not have any minimum punishment like other sexual offences. Thus, the court may sentence a person to a lesser punishment depending on the facts and circumstances of the case. The purpose of this section could be to safeguard women from being deceived and exploited through false promises of marriage or other inducements that lead to sexual activity. It also acknowledges the importance of informed consent and ensures that women are not misled into engaging in sexual activities on false pretexts.