One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.
Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies.
TL;DR: Consensual physical intimacy between two adults is not an offence in India, and a break-up by itself creates no liability. But the legal consequences of a relationship can appear later if the other side claims her consent was obtained by deceit or by a promise of marriage that was never meant to be kept. That is the point at which an FIR, a police station and a criminal court enter the picture.
Kunal Deshmukh is 23 and works in the operations team of a logistics company in Pune. In February he told a colleague, Sneha, that his posting would shift to Hyderabad by the end of the year and that whatever they had could not last beyond that. By March they were together.
Over the following weeks they met four or five times. What happened stayed within kissing and touching. Both were 23. Both knew the clock was running.
Then the transfer moved up. Late October, not December. He told her the same week. She said she was fine with it.
That is when the worry started. A friend in Nagpur had told him about a man who was picked up after a break-up, and Kunal could not stop running the arithmetic at night. Two friends and one local lawyer gave him answers that contradicted each other, which made it worse. He then approached the Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao with a folder of chat screenshots, his transfer letter, and a list of dates.
Advocate Sudhir Rao and his office read the messages line by line, and the earliest of them mattered most, because that was where Kunal had said he would be leaving. A written response was kept ready in case a complaint ever came. That record, and the domain-specific handling of the matter, is what helped keep it from going beyond a relationship that simply ended. We only have his side of it, though, and that is worth remembering.
Key Facts of the Case
- Both parties were 23 years old and the relationship was consensual from start to finish.
- The woman was told, before the relationship began, that the man would leave the city by the end of the year.
- They met a handful of times and the physical intimacy stayed at kissing and touching. No sexual intercourse took place.
- No promise of marriage was made by either side, in writing or verbally.
- The break-up was triggered by a transfer that was moved forward from December to late October.
- No FIR, complaint or legal notice had been filed when the client came in for consultation.
- The chat history shows the "I am leaving" message was sent before the relationship started.
- There was no marriage, no conversion and no transfer of money between them.
The Direct Legal Answer
Is a consensual relationship between two adults of different religions illegal?
No. Nothing in Indian law makes a relationship, or physical intimacy, between two consenting adults of different faiths an offence. Religion is irrelevant to the question.
Can he be prosecuted for what happened between them?
Only if she later says she never consented, or that her consent was obtained by deceit. If force is alleged, the offence falls under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the punishment under Section 64. If the allegation is a promise of marriage made without any intention of keeping it, that is Section 69 BNS.
Does the break-up itself create liability?
No. Ending a relationship is not a crime, and Indian law gives no adult a right to sue simply because a relationship ended. There is no compensation claim that flows from a break-up alone.
Does the different religion change anything?
Not by itself. Some states have laws regulating religious conversion, including conversion for the purpose of marriage, and those can bite if a marriage actually takes place after conversion. That is not the situation described here.
Advice in Such Cases
Consult with Lawyer: The very basic and important step to start is talk to Lawyer / advocate. You should not hesitate in paying his consultation fee i.e. might be in range of Rs. 10,000 to 50,000 depends case to case. He is helping you in this situation to come out. He is expert in the domain and can help you explain the procedure which you might have never explored. A good lawyer can get the issues resolved much faster than you think.
Keep every message, every call log and every dated message that shows what was said and when. If the other side is still speaking to you normally, put nothing inflammatory in writing. And do not message her friends or family to explain your side.
Matters of this kind turn on how a complaint is worded and how the first response is drafted. That is a procedural and evidentiary exercise, and it is often handled poorly by a general practitioner who does not deal with criminal complaints regularly. An advocate who sees these matters often will know which documents matter, which do not, and what to file and when.
Applicable Sections of Law
- Section 63, BNS — defines the offence of rape, including consent obtained by deceit or by a promise of marriage made without intent to keep it.
- Section 64, BNS — punishment for rape.
- Section 69, BNS — sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means or by making a promise to marry without any intention of fulfilling it.
- Section 318, BNS — cheating, where a person is induced by deceit to do something they would not otherwise have done.
- Section 173, BNSS and Section 175(3), BNSS — the routes available when a police station refuses to register a complaint.
Punishment and Penalties
- Section 64 BNS: rigorous imprisonment of not less than ten years, extendable to imprisonment for life, plus fine. The offence is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, and is tried by a Court of Session.
- Section 69 BNS: imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and fine. The offence is cognizable and non -bailable.
- Section 318 BNS: punishment for cheating, which may extend to seven years and fine, depending on the nature of the deception alleged.
Probation is not available for these offences. Bail is possible but contested, and the practical reality is that the first 48 hours after a complaint is registered decide how the next two years will go.
What Happens First: The Step-by-Step Process
1. The complaint
It usually begins as a written complaint at the police station covering the area where the incident allegedly happened, or where the woman lives. A woman's complaint of a sexual offence is ordinarily recorded by a woman officer, and where the offence carries more than seven years, the statement is recorded by a Magistrate.
2. Registration of FIR
If the police register it, an FIR is drawn up under Section 173 BNSS, and the first version of the story is now on record. If the station refuses, the complainant can approach the Superintendent of Police, or move the Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS, which lets a court order an investigation. That is also the route the defence needs to watch — a Section 175(3) order is sometimes obtained quietly, before the person named knows anything has been filed.
3. Arrest or notice
These offences are cognizable and non-bailable, so arrest is legally possible without a warrant. In practice, many of these matters proceed by notice of appearance, and where the person is not arrested, the investigating officer files a chargesheet without custody. This is where a prepared written record helps most: if the earliest messages already show the relationship was entered into knowing the man was leaving, that document is in front of the officer before any arrest decision is taken.
4. Anticipatory bail
If arrest is a live possibility — because a complaint has been threatened, or a notice has arrived — an application for anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS is filed before the Sessions Court or the High Court. Courts look at the nature of the allegation, whether custodial interrogation is genuinely needed, and whether the accused is likely to flee or tamper with evidence.
5. Investigation and chargesheet
The investigating officer records statements, collects the electronic record and any medical evidence, and then files a chargesheet under Section 193 BNSS, or a closure report if the material does not support the allegation. A closure report is not the end. The complainant has a right to be heard on it, and the Magistrate can order further investigation.
6. Trial
If a charge is framed, the matter goes to a Court of Session. The evidence that matters is almost always documentary — messages, call records, location data and the woman's own statement taken in one go. Witnesses who come later tend to be unreliable, and courts know this.
What the Defence Usually Turns On
- What was said before the relationship began. If the man told her in writing that he was leaving the city, the claim of a promise of marriage is very hard to sustain. This is the single most important document in a case of this kind.
- Whether there was a promise of marriage at all. Section 69 BNS requires a promise to marry made without any intention of fulfilling it. A promise that was honestly made and later broken is not the offence. Courts have drawn that line repeatedly.
- What "deceitful means" covers. The Explanation to Section 69 BNS limits it to things like a false promise of employment or promotion, inducement, or marrying after suppressing identity. The Explanation matters, because a general allegation of "he lied to me" is not enough.
- Delay in filing. A complaint filed months after the break-up, with no explanation for the gap, is a point the defence will press.
- Whether the physical acts alleged fall within the section at all. Section 69 requires sexual intercourse. An allegation that stops short of that, if the medical and documentary record supports the defence version, does not fit the section.
- The accused's side of the messages. Chats are read by the court as a whole conversation. Selective screenshots are easy to expose.
On the other side of it, none of this is a magic shield. If the record shows an assurance of marriage given repeatedly and then abandoned the moment it was inconvenient, a court can and does read intent into the sequence. We have one side of the facts here. The woman's version may add something that changes the picture.
Electronic Evidence and the BSA, 2023
Almost every one of these matters now turns on the phone. Under the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, electronic records are proved through Section 63 BSA, which requires a certificate in the prescribed form along with the record. This is a technical requirement and it is where cases are won and lost on procedure rather than fact.
Practically, that means: do not delete anything. Do not switch phones and leave the chats behind. Do not let a device that holds the messages drop, get repaired or get reset. Take a full backup now, on a date you can prove. If the messages are on WhatsApp, take the chat export as well as screenshots, because an export carries metadata that screenshots do not.
Can a consensual relationship between two adults of different religions attract a criminal case?
The relationship itself cannot. There is no section in the BNS, and no personal law, that makes a consensual relationship between two adults of different religions an offence. What attracts a criminal case is a specific allegation — absence of consent, consent obtained by deceit, or sexual intercourse on a promise to marry that was never meant to be kept.
Religion becomes relevant in two narrow places. First, some states regulate religious conversion, and a conversion followed by a marriage can be challenged under those laws. Second, where a marriage actually takes place across faiths, the validity of that marriage and any dispute around it is governed by the applicable marriage law. Neither applies to a relationship that simply ended before any marriage.
Frequently Asked Questions
If we were both 23 and fully consenting, can an FIR still be filed against me?
Yes. Anyone can file a complaint. Whether it survives is a different question. If the messages show the relationship was entered into freely and both knew the man was leaving, the case is weak — but weak cases still cost money, time and reputation while they are being fought.
She has threatened to go to the police. Should I message her to explain?
No. Stop. Anything you write now will be read by a court in a mood you cannot predict. If you want to say something, say it through a lawyer, in writing, once.
Will I be arrested straight away?
Not automatically. It depends on the allegation, the evidence and the investigating officer. If arrest looks likely, anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS is filed before any arrest happens. That window is short, so the move has to be made early.
Can she claim money for the time she spent with me?
A break-up by itself gives no right to compensation. There is no suit that lies simply because a relationship ended. If money actually changed hands and is being claimed back, that is a separate civil claim about the money, not about the relationship.
What should I keep ready if a complaint is filed?
Everything dated: chat exports, the transfer or posting letter, call records, and a short chronological note of events written by you. If a notice or complaint has already arrived, keep the original envelope and the exact date of receipt.
What to Do Right Now
First, freeze the record. Export the chats today, back them up to a location you will still have in two years, and note the date you did it.
Second, write down what happened in the order it happened, in two pages, with dates. Not a defence brief — just the sequence.
Third, do not speak to her family or friends, and do not post anything about it anywhere.
Fourth, get the earliest possible advice. These matters are much easier to shape before an FIR exists than after. Once the first version is recorded at a police station, everything afterwards is a correction, and corrections are expensive.
If you want this looked at, email me@sudhirrao.com or send a note through /contact-us. Attach the complaint or notice you have received, with its date, and a two-line note saying when the relationship began, when it ended, and whether any promise of marriage was made to you or by you. If there is nothing there to argue, we will tell you that on the first call rather than after a retainer. If money has already changed hands over this, say so in the first line — it changes the approach.
You can also reach the chamber on +91 97295 06771. The office is at Lawyers' Chamber, Chamber No. 86, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi – 110001. Consultations are by prior appointment, and matters in Pune and elsewhere are handled through the same chamber. If your matter involves a family or matrimonial dispute alongside a criminal complaint, Adv. Jyoti Rao, Bar Council of Delhi D/891/2023, handles that side of it.
This article is general information about Indian law as it stands, not legal advice on your own situation. Every one of these matters turns on its own documents, and no outcome can be promised in advance.
Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India