Refusing marriage after sex over ‘kundali’ mismatch may attract charges, says Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has denied bail to a man accused of rape after the complainant alleged that he established physical relations with her on repeated assurances of marriage and later refused, citing a “kundali” mismatch. The court observed that such a shift in stand raised serious questions about the validity of consent.

The accused faces charges under Section 376 of the IPC and Section 69 of the BNS. The complainant told the court that she was in a prolonged relationship with the accused and consented to physical relations based on his assurances of marriage. WhatsApp messages placed on record showed the accused stating that their horoscopes had matched and that there was no obstacle to their marriage. In one message, he allegedly wrote that they would get married the next day.

According to the woman, she had even withdrawn an earlier complaint after renewed assurances from the accused and his family. However, he later declined to marry her, citing non-matching kundalis. The court found this explanation inconsistent with his earlier representations that the horoscope issue had already been resolved.

Observing that refusal to marry on grounds previously claimed to be settled could indicate consent obtained through false assurance, the court rejected the bail plea.