The Uttarakhand High Court has ruled that if a man conceals his valid first marriage and then marries another woman to establish sexual relations, it will be treated as rape under law. Justice Pankaj Purohit delivered the order while dismissing a petition filed under Section 482 CrPC by Sarthak Verma.
According to the case details, a woman from Dehradun lodged an FIR in September 2021, alleging that Verma hid his first marriage and married her on 24 August 2020 as per Hindu rituals. She accused him of dowry harassment, mental and physical abuse, and sexual exploitation. Later, she discovered that he was already married. Based on this, charges under IPC Sections 498A, 494, 377, 323, 504, 506 and the Dowry Prohibition Act were filed. During further investigation, some charges were dropped but the new investigating officer added more serious sections, including 375(4), 376, 493, 495, and 496 IPC.
Verma argued that the investigation was biased and that the police wrongly imposed serious charges. He claimed the complainant already knew about his previous marriage and had earlier lodged a similar complaint. On the other hand, the state government and the complainant stated that the probe clearly established that Verma was already married and had hidden this fact while entering into another marriage and physical relationship. The complainant told the court that she would not have consented to the marriage or relationship if she had known the truth.
The High Court held that when a woman agrees to sexual relations under the belief that she is the lawful wife, but the man is already married, such consent cannot be considered valid. The court said this falls under “misconception of fact” as defined in Section 375 of the IPC, making it an act of rape. Referring to Supreme Court and other High Court judgments, the bench ruled that the consent in such cases is “vitiated consent.” The court concluded that prima facie serious offences were made out, upheld the order of the CJM Dehradun, and dismissed Verma’s petition along with the interim relief.
