Law against love jihad? Deceiving women into sex punishable under new bill
The proposed laws mention that sex using deceitful means or promise of marriage will be punishable.
The government has introduced three bills in Lok Sabha to enact new criminal laws in the country. Under the proposed laws, those who engage in sexual relations with another person by giving their false identity will be prosecuted. Some sections of society saw the specific provision about "marrying after suppressing identity" being targeted at cases of interfaith marriages under false names.
The new bills mention that sex using deceitful means or promise of marriage without having the intention of fulfilling the same, with sexual intercourse not amounting to rape, will be punishable. A maximum of 10-year imprisonment has been proposed under the new criminal laws.
"Whoever, by deceitful means or making by promise to marry to a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, and has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine,” the proposed laws says.
The phrase “deceitful means” has been defined to include false promise of employment or promotion, or inducement or "marrying after suppressing identity".
The Indian Penal Code has no specific provision dealing with such an offence, but Section 90 of the IPC mentioned that a woman cannot be said to have consented to sexual intercourse if there is a "misconception of fact".
The proposed law, however, expressly makes it an offence if a man seeks sexual intercourse with a woman by "deceitful means" or by making a promise to marry her without any intention of fulfilling the same. Since "suppressing identity" has been included within the definition of "deceitful means", a man lying about his religious identity to indulge in sexual intercourse with a woman would also be brought under the purview of the law.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday introduced three bills that will replace colonial-era laws in the country. The three bills- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) Bill, 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) Bill, 2023- seek to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 respectively.
The Home Minister said that the offences against women and children, murder and offences against the State have been given precedence in the proposed laws.
