The Supreme Court of India held that a long-term consensual relationship between adults cannot automatically become a rape case merely because the promise of marriage was not fulfilled later. In Shaileshbhai Govindbhai Makwana v. State of Maharashtra, the Court quashed FIRs under Sections 376, 377, and 506 IPC, observing that both parties willingly continued the relationship for nearly four years. The bench clarified that a “false promise of marriage” amounts to rape only when the accused never intended to marry from the beginning and used the promise solely to obtain consent for sexual relations. The Court noted that the complainant and accused were mature adults, aware of each other’s marital status, and had voluntarily cohabited and travelled together. Since the complaint was filed only after the relationship deteriorated, the Court found no case of rape by deception. The judgment reinforces that failed relationships or broken promises cannot automatically be criminalized as rape under Indian law.