Hi, I’m Supriya Gill, a final-year law student. In this article, I am going to discuss the legal actions to take when your girlfriend is cheating on you.
Can a guy who has been in a relationship with a girl for a particular duration, spend a lot of money on her and has been promised by the girl that she will marry him.
But the girl has been cheating on him, used his money, and the guy has been honest to her all the time. In this scenario, can the boyfriend file a case against her?
First of all, yes, it’s possible to file a case against your girlfriend if the girl has been cheating on you, used your money, and made fake promises willingly.
But in such a situation, preparation and collection of evidence before you take any step is very important, as the burden of proof will fall upon you.
Moreover, if you fail to prove your cause, you may find yourself in more trouble than you already were.
Recently, popular TikTok star Shadab khan, who has been accused of sexual exploitation and rape by his ex-girlfriend, has filed a cross-complaint against her and accused the girl of extortion, cheating, and defamation.
COLLECTING EVIDENCE -What qualifies as a valid evidence under the Law?
Evidence that can be used by you-
- Witnesses
- Photographs and videos
- Whatsapp messages, or email
- Exchanges
- Phone recordings
- Confessions
Since it is very hard to obtain direct evidence in a case pertaining to cheating on a partner, so circumstantial evidence is sufficient.
However, such evidence should be such, that if regarded together, leads to an irresistible conclusion of the commission of cheating.
What Are The Legal Rights If Your Girlfriend Cheat On You?
There are some provisions in Law under which a man can file a complaint against a cheating GF or BF.
- Section 406 Of the Indian Penal Code(IPC)
- Section 420 Of IPC
- Section 426 Of IPC
- Civil Recovery Suit
- Section 323 Of IPC
- Section 504 Of IPC
- Section 506 Of IPC
- Section 500 Of Indian Penal Code(IPC)
1. Section 406 of Indian penal code(IPC)-
Punishment for criminal breach of trust. —Whoever commits criminal breach of trust shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
Normally women use this against men, but men can also use this provision to recover the gifts, etc.
However, in such a case, preparation and collection of evidence are very important because the burden of proof will fall upon you.
2. Section 420 of IPC –
Section 420 in the Indian Penal Code deals with cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.
The maximum punishment which can be awarded under this section is imprisonment for a term of 7 years and fine.
If a girl dishonestly takes any property with an intention to cheat, you can file a complaint against her under this section.
3. Section 426 of IPC-
The definition of mischief is mentioned under Section 425 of IPC & the punishment is prescribed under Section 426 of IPC.
Further, Section 427 to 440 lays down the specific punishment prescribed for aggravated forms of mischief depending upon the nature & the value of the property damage.
The Law of Mischief under IPC is specifically drafted with an objective to provide protection against the destruction of the property causing any wrongful loss or damage to the public or an individual.
If your girlfriend or deliberately breaks your phone, burns your documents, or distorts anything that can not be used again in the same way, you can file a complaint under sections 426 and 427 of IPC.
4. Civil recovery suit-
You can file a civil recovery suit against her. Also, in the suit, kindly mention about the relationship that you have had since after getting court notice of the suit.
She might file a police complaint, but if you already write that you had a relationship with her, you will be on the safer side.
But before filing a suit, you can send a Legal Notice demanding the amount of money taken by her along with interest. Find a good lawyer with great civil law knowledge.
5. Section 323 of IPC-
Section 323 lays down the punishment for causing hurt. For the prosecution to prove an offense under Section 323, three essential ingredients should be present:
- Accused has caused hurt to the victim.
- The hurt caused was voluntary in nature.
- The same offense is not covered under Section 334 of the IPC.
Once these conditions are met beyond a reasonable doubt, the convict either faces a year of imprisonment or has to pay a 1000 rupees fine, or both.
You can file a complaint under this section if your girlfriend slaps or use violence with you, or there is any transfer of venereal disease from her to you.
As I already mentioned in the article many times that, in such a situation, preparation and collection of evidence before you take any step is very important.
6. Section 504 of IPC-
Whoever intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace, or to commit any other offense, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
For example– when the accused abused the complainant in such a manner which involves the chastity of his mother or sister, such an act falls under the ambit of IPC section 504. This was also held in the case of re Karumuri Venkatratnam.
7. Section 506 of IPC-
Section 503 IPC defines criminal intimidation, and section 506 IPC is the penal provision prescribing punishment for the offense committed under section 503 IPC.
Threatening someone with life and reputation is dealt with great seriousness under IPC.
Essentials of Section 503 IPC
Narendra Kumar & others Vs. State( 2004) Delhi High court pointed out essential ingredients of an offense under section 503 IPC.
1. There should be a threat of injury
- To a person
- To his reputation; or,
- To his property; or,
- To the person or reputation of anyone in whom that person is interested.
2. The threat must be with the intent
- To cause alarm to that person; or,
- To cause that person to do an act which he is not legally bound to do as the means of avoiding the execution of such threat; or,
- To cause that person to omit to do any act which that person is legally entitled to do as means of avoiding the execution of such threat.
If after the breakup, girlfriend threatens you of killing, or to defame, to file false accusations against you, then you can file a complaint under this section.
8. Section 500 of Indian Penal Code(IPC)-
Defamation is a procedure for check and balance on the Right to freedom of speech and expression (Article 19).
It is a procedure to ensure that nobody harms the reputation of any person or tends to create a wrong opinion of the person who is defamed, in the eyes of the public.
Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Any person who by spoken or written words, signs, or visible gestures creates, or publishes any imputation on any person with an intention to harm the reputation of that person.
The person making such imputation should have the knowledge or a reason to believe that such imputation will ruin the reputation of the person.
If your girlfriend tries to ruin your reputation or spread lies about you, you can file a complaint against her under this section. You must give the evidence for falsity of the statement given by her.
How to file a complaint?
To file a complaint under the Indian Penal Code, you may approach the nearest station that has authority over the area where the crime was committed.
You can then ask them to register a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused and provide them with all the proofs regarding the case, which are to be retained by you for future use.
The proof would include any written conversation between you and the accused, call recordings of the accused accepting the crime, etc.
What happens after an FIR has been registered?
Once your FIR is registered, the police will conduct an investigation based on the FIR, which may also include the arrests of the accused.
After the investigation is complete, the police will record all the findings of their investigation and would make a chargesheet which will be submitted in the court.
The charge sheet will state whether a case is made out against the accused and if substantial proof regarding the same has been found in the investigation or not.
You can file a detailed criminal complaint against the accused, stating all the facts of the case.
It is recommended to have an experienced criminal lawyer with you during the step. He can guide you with the court procedure and can also draft and file the criminal complaint on your behalf.
How can a lawyer help you? Should You Hire A Lawyer?
Criminal procedure in India involves various steps which would require you to deal with the police at numerous stages and would also involve going to court.
This is why it is essential to have a criminal lawyer to help you through the procedure and to guide you with the best possible way to resolve the criminal issue.
So yes, it’s recommended to hire a criminal lawyer with good knowledge.
Conclusion-
Only vocal promises do not contain any value in Indian Law. One must have written authorized proof of that. To emotionally fox someone is not an act of cheating in legal parlance, but you can certainly file an FIR under the above-mentioned sections of the Indian Penal Code.
However, no case lies on her only because she has left you. If there is any unethical or illegal occurrence that happened with you, such as financial cheat or any mental or physical harassment or life threat, etc, then you can take help from the proper court of Law.
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