Promised marriage in 2018 but backed out over ‘kundali mismatch’: Why Delhi High Court denied bail to man accused of deceit

“The subsequent refusal to marry on the ground of non-matching of kundalis, despite earlier assurances to the contrary, prima facie raises a question as to the nature and genuineness of the promise extended by the applicant. Such conduct, at this stage, would attract the offence under Section 69 of the BNS, which specifically deals with cases of sexual relations induced by deceit or false assurance of marriage,” the court said on February 16.

‘Not mere relationship turning sour’

• The woman first lodged a complaint in November 2025, which was withdrawn only on the assurance of marriage allegedly given by the applicant and his family.
• However, despite such assurance, no steps were taken towards the marriage, and the man refused to marry the woman on the ground of non-matching of kundalis.
• The sequence of events, at this stage, cannot be viewed as a mere relationship turning sour, but rather suggests that assurances of marriage were repeatedly extended despite the applicant being aware of the insistence of his family on kundali matching.
• The applicant’s stand that the marriage could not take place only due to non-matching of kundalis appears inconsistent with his own conduct and representations made over the years.
• If the issue of kundali matching was indeed of such determinative importance for the applicant and his family, the same should have been resolved at the threshold before entering into physical relations.

• Prima facie, however, the material on record indicates that the applicant assured the woman that the issue had already been addressed.
• There was no impediment to their marriage, on the basis of which physical relations were allegedly established.
• The applicant had repeatedly assured the woman that there was no impediment to their marriage, including on the aspect of kundali matching, and had represented that the horoscopes had already matched.
• It is on the basis of such assurances that physical relations were established over a period of time.

Bail denied, trial yet to begin

• Noting that the chargesheet is yet to be filed and the investigation is at a crucial stage, the court declined to grant regular bail.
• “Having regard to the nature of allegations and the material collected during investigation so far, this Court is not inclined to grant regular bail to the applicant at this stage,” the order stated.
• At the same time, the court clarified that the observations in the order are limited to the consideration of bail and will not influence the merits of the trial.

From college companions to criminal complaint

• According to the prosecution, the 27-year-old complainant approached the police on January 3, 2026, alleging sexual exploitation on the false promise of marriage.
• An FIR was registered under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 69 of the BNS.
• In her complaint and subsequent statement before a magistrate on January 6, she stated that she had known the accused since their college days and had been in a relationship with him since 2018.
• Physical relations, she alleged, first began in July 2019 and continued at various locations including his residence, a hotel, and other places always on the assurance that marriage was certain.

• What deepened her belief, she said, was not just private promises but public conduct.
• She told the court she had been introduced to his family as a prospective wife, attended family functions, and was even given a ring.
• She also claimed that when she initially complained in November 2025, she withdrew it after the accused and his family assured her that the marriage would happen.
• But in June 2025, she alleged, he refused to marry her, citing non-matching kundalis, despite years of earlier assurances that the horoscopes had already been checked and found compatible.

WhatsApp trail

• A key feature of the case at the bail stage was the WhatsApp conversations exchanged between 2022 and 2025.
• The prosecution pointed to messages in which the accused allegedly assured the complainant that there was “no impediment” to their marriage.
• In one message dated September 14, 2023, he allegedly wrote, “kal hi shaadi kar rahe hain hum” (we’re getting married tomorrow itself), which the court noted as prima facie indicating that the issue of horoscope matching had already been presented as resolved.

• The court also recorded that the accused had sought her birth details for kundali matching and had repeatedly represented that the horoscopes had matched.
• On that basis, the complainant alleged, she agreed to physical intimacy despite her initial reluctance before marriage.
• The court observed that the conversations showed the accused projecting pre-marital physical proximity as a natural progression of a relationship where “there was no hurdle in their marriage” .
• The accused’s mobile phone has been seized and sent to the forensic science laboratory (FSL) for data extraction, while hotel records have been verified as part of the ongoing investigation.