Bengaluru: Highlighting increasing cases of misuse of the breach of promise of marriage provision under BNS Section 69, the Karnataka high court has granted relief to an employee of a private company with regard to the complaint lodged by his colleague.“The litigation is with regard to misuse of Section 69 of the BNS and mushrooming of cases before this court by the day and in all cases, where the relationship ends in a breakup, the man is in the lockup. Therefore, it is necessary for this court to direct release of the petitioner forthwith,” Justice M Nagaprasanna observed in his interim order while staying the investigation and the proceedings against the petitioner, pending before the 41st additional chief judicial magistrate court, Bengaluru, till the next date of hearing.The petitioner, who hails from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, and the complainant were colleagues and got into a relationship that turned physical as well. This happened over a period of eight months, the court was told.The complaint was registered on the allegation that the petitioner had a physical relationship on commitment of marriage and broke the said commitment. The result of the complaint is that the petitioner is in judicial custody for more than six weeks now, the court was informed.After perusing the materials on record, Justice Nagaprasanna noted that the complaint clearly indicated that the alleged acts between the petitioner and the complainant were all consensual as not a word of allegation of sexual assault by the petitioner against the complainant was narrated.Though the provision, ie, section 69 of the BNS, would punish a person having sexual intercourse with the victim on the deceitful promise of marriage, in the case at hand, there is no indication except the fact that the breach of promise of marriage is an afterthought that springs in the complaint, the judge added while granting relief on the strength of the observation of the Supreme Court in Dr Dhruvaram Murlidhar Sonar vs State of Maharashtra case.
