India, Feb. 23 -- The Odisha high court questioned the logic of criminalising sex on the promise of marriage and said notions that a woman engages in intimacy with a man only as a precursor to marriage is "patriarchal", legal news portal LiveLaw reported.

The single judge bench headed by Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi was hearing a man's plea seeking to quash criminal proceedings against him under various sections of the IPC. The petitioner was accused of having sexual intercourse with a woman for over nine years under a promise of marriage.

The judge called for law to recognise that an act of sexual intercourse is not a promise to guarantee a predetermined outcome. Terming such notions as "patriarchal", the judge called for recognisin...