Rape on false promise of marriage: Delhi HC grants anticipatory bail to Army officer citing Roka, long relationship with accused

The Delhi High Court recently granted anticipatory bail to a man serving in the Indian Army observing that roka (engagement ceremony) after the course of a long relationship prima facie strengthens his case against allegations of rape on false promise of marriage [Vineet Sorout v. State NCT of Delhi]..Justice Prateek Jalan observed that performance of roka after a five-year relationship renders plausibility of his case. “The fact that the petitioner and the prosecutrix performed pre-marriage rituals, such as the “Roka”/engagement ceremony in the course of a long relationship of almost five years, and a physical relationship of almost two years, coupled with the contents of the complaint dated 22.07.2025, renders prima facie plausibility to the petitioner's case.”.Further, the Court observed from a private communication exchanged between the two that the prosecutrix and the accused were in a five-year long relationship and that she was in love with the accused. This shows that physical relations could have been established without promise of marriage, the Court stated.“The very first statement in the communication dated 22.07.2025 reproduced above, is that the prosecutrix was in love with the petitioner. This aligns with the possibility that a physical relationship may be made without a promise of marriage, as indicated in the judgment of the Supreme Court in Mahesh Damu Khare v. State of Maharashtra. Similarly, the length of the relationship for a period of almost five years, during which the prosecutrix claims to have been emotionally invested in the relationship...”.In 2021, the prosecutrix and the accused person developed a relationship. Thereafter, the accused approached the family of the prosecutrix asking for her hand in marriage. The two families agreed, a roka was held and a date for marriage was fixed. However, the woman alleged that the accused stopped speaking to her. On enquiring, he and his sister allegedly demanded ₹10 lakh as dowry from the prosecutrix for solemnising their marriage. Thereafter, she got to know that the accused had fixed his marriage elsewhere.Upon confronting him, she alleged that the accused threatened to leak her intimate pictures and videos online. She also alleged that the accused and others assaulted her. The prosecutrix registered a complaint that the accused established physical relations with her on the false pretext of marriage. She stated that since he was in the Army, he would take leave from service to get intimate with her. She also stated that the accused recorded explicit pictures and videos of her in his mobile phone without her knowledge. Further, she stated that even after the roka, he continued being intimate with her. The Court was informed that the accused did not join the investigation, due to which a non-bailable warrant was issued against him..The Court also observed that there was no rape allegation in the initial police complaint made by the prosecutrix against the petitioner accused.Thereby, the Court proceeded to grant anticipatory bail to the accused man with the observations that he has no prior criminal antecedents and that merits of the case will be decided during trial.“While these matters are ultimately to be adjudicated at trial, having regard to the prime facie case, and the fact that the petitioner has no prior criminal antecedents, I am of the view that it is appropriate to protect him from deprivation of his liberty,” the Court stated.The Court also directed the accused to join investigation as and when required by the investigating officer. .Advocates Abhay Kumar, Shagun Ruhil and Karan Chopra appeared for the accused. Additional Public Prosecutor Manjeet Arya appeared for the State. Advocate Vishal Chaudhary appeared for the prosecutrix..[Read judgment].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.