Bombay High Court Quashes Cheating Case in Pre-Wedding Elopement Drama

The Bombay High Court has quashed a cheating case against a young woman who eloped with her paramour days before her wedding. The court determined there was no intent to deceive by the woman or her family, and emphasized the situation should be seen as a tragic misunderstanding rather than a criminal act.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a cheating case filed by a Pune man against his would-be daughter-in-law, who eloped with her boyfriend just days before her scheduled wedding in 2022. The court acknowledged that the woman had no intention to deceive anyone.

A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Neela Gokhale labeled it as a 'regrettable case,' involving a young woman who was unable to disclose her romantic relationship to her parents. The court emphasized that neither the woman nor her family intended to deceive the complainant or his family.

The court elucidated the unfortunate sequence of events: the young woman, succumbing to familial and societal pressures, agreed to an arranged marriage but could not summon the courage to disclose her true feelings. Her family mistook her reluctance as acceptance, leading them to finalize her engagement. The court noted that the woman's family gained no monetary benefit and were also defamed following her elopement.

The bench underlined that to establish the offence of cheating, the complainant needed to prove deception and dishonest intention, which were absent in this case. The high court maintained that the woman's hesitation was injudicious but not dishonest.

Ultimately, the court observed that the present case did not qualify as cheating and stated that the offence of defamation could be further pursued by the complainant.

(With inputs from agencies.)