KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has ruled that the case of sexual abuse on false promise to marry will only be considered if he engage in sexual intercourse without revealing the fact that he doesn't want to marry or by influencing a woman's choice of decision by promise of false marriage. The court ordered this by cancelling trial court's judgement on life imprisonment and fine for Idukki native Ramachandran on a similar charges.

Division bench consists of Justice A Mohammad Mushtaq and Justice Kauser Edappagath said the defendant could not be charged with rape by false promise to marry simply because the defendant had remarried after having sex.

The High Court considered Ramachandran's appeal against the sentence of the Kottayam Additional Sessions Court. Ramachandran allegedly raped a relative three times in April 2014 after promising to marry her. He brought back the girl to her home and he remarried three days later.

The law states that a woman's right to make decisions about sex must be protected. Concealment of defendant's facts in order to obtain a woman's consent to sexual intercourse is an encroachment on a woman's power to make decisions about sex. It is a crime to engage in physical contact without being given the freedom to make such decisions.