Hyderabad, June 29 -- The Telangana High Court has clarified that failing to fulfil a promise of marriage does not amount to criminal prosecution under cheating charges unless there is evidence of dishonest inducement at the outset.

The court stated that only if there is a clear intent to deceive from the beginning can a cheating case be sustained for breach of a marriage promise.

This observation came during the hearing of a petition filed by Rajapuram Jeevan Reddy from Karmanghat, Hyderabad. He challenged the criminal proceedings initiated against him in 2019 based on a complaint by Karakalla Padmini Reddy.

Padmini Reddy alleged that Jeevan Reddy, with the consent of his parents, promised to marry her in 2016 but later reneged on the...