The Kerala High Court has granted regular bail to a man booked under Sections 69 and 84 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. He was accused of inducing a married woman into a sexual relationship under a false promise of marriage. The prosecution alleged that the man later threatened to publish her photos and videos and borrowed ₹2.5 lakhs from her. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas questioned the applicability of BNS Section 69 in this case, as the complainant was already married. The Court observed that a false promise of marriage cannot exist when both parties are aware of a subsisting marriage. Citing Anil Kumar v. State of Kerala (2021) and Ranjith v. State of Kerala (2022), the Court stated that it is difficult to determine consent at this stage.
Since Section 84 is a bailable offence, the Court ruled that further detention was unnecessary. It clarified that the observations were only for deciding the bail and not for the trial. Hence, the bail application was allowed.
