NEW DELHI: In a significant order, a Delhi court has acquitted a man accused of raping a woman on the false promise of marriage and held that it was only a "proposal" as the woman refused to accept it, and did not become a "promise".It also came on record that the woman had married the man and did not want to contest the case.The woman had met the man while she lived at a rented accommodation in the city. They became friends and on the new year’s eve of 2012, he came to her place for dinner. That’s when he proposed her but she said that she needed the approval of her parents. “Proposal to marry victim was definitely put forth by the accused. But, she did not accept the proposal saying that she cannot carry him without telling her parents,” the court observed.The man, it was argued, stayed with the woman until next morning only after she had refused his “proposal” of marriage. “Hence, it can be said that there was only a proposal from the side of the accused to marry victim. She spurned the proposal saying that she cannot marry without the concurrence of her family members. In this way, due to non-acceptance, the proposal remained only a proposal and did not become a promise,” the court held.The case was registered after allegedly the man told the woman that things were only casual and she shouldn’t have taken him seriously when he showed interest to marry her. It also came on record that the woman married him eventually and stated that she did not want to "proceed in the case".The accused, on the other hand, denied the rape charge and did not examine even a single witness in his defense. His counsel submitted that the woman had never testified claiming that she established physical relations with the man. He also relied on the fact that she had married the man, and, therefore, a case of rape was not made out.The prosecution, as a result, declared the woman a hostile witness besides referring to her claim that the man stayed with her on the new year’s eve until the next day as her husband. “She further stated it correct that the accused was not interested to perform marriage with her and that is why she filed complaint against him,” the court noted.