HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has ruled that merely failing to fulfil a promise of marriage does not constitute criminal cheating unless there is evidence of dishonest inducement resulting in the delivery of property or other material benefit.
The court made this observation while quashing criminal proceedings against Rajapuram Jeevan Reddy, a resident of Karmanghat. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Karakalla Padmini Reddy, who alleged that Jeevan Reddy had reneged on a promise to marry her.
According to the complaint, the two were in a relationship during their college years in 2016, during which Jeevan Reddy allegedly promised to marry Padmini after obtaining his parents’ consent.
She claimed he later withdrew from the commitment in front of friends but subsequently acknowledged his mistake and reaffirmed his intent to marry—only to back out again later.
Based on her complaint, police registered a cheating case and trial proceedings commenced in a lower court in LB Nagar. Jeevan Reddy then approached the High Court seeking to quash the case.
The court stressed that, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, an offence of cheating requires a clear indication of dishonest intent at the time the promise was made. In this case, the court found no allegations suggesting fraudulent or dishonest intent at the inception of the promise, nor any evidence that the complainant was deceived into parting with property or acting differently. The promise was reportedly withdrawn due to family objections, which the court said did not meet the legal threshold for cheating.