PRAYAGRAJ, May 27 -- The Allahabad high court said that courts are witnessing a "growing trend" of consensual relationships turning sour, being converted into criminal prosecutions for rape. Making the observation the court quashed criminal proceedings against a Gorakhpur man accused of rape on the false promise of marriage. The court said that the misuse of criminal law in such cases was a matter of "profound concern" and warned against trivialising rape. Justice Vivek Kumar Singh passed the order while allowing an application filed by Sanjay @ Sanjay Kashyap under Section 528 BNSS, seeking quashing of the charge-sheet, cognisance order and entire proceedings in a rape case registered at Pipraich police station of Gorakhpur. The court held that in the case "consensual relationships going on for a prolonged period, upon turning sour, had been sought to be criminalised by invoking criminal jurisprudence" and continuation of such prosecution would amount to "gross misuse of criminal jurisdiction". The high court said every failed promise of marriage cannot be treated as rape unless it is shown that the accused never intended to marry the woman from the inception of the relationship. According to the FIR lodged on March 30, 2024, the complainant alleged that she met the accused at a marriage ceremony about a year earlier. The accused allegedly gifted her a mobile phone and later promised marriage before her family members. The woman claimed that they developed intimacy after the promise of marriage and that the accused later began avoiding the issue of marriage before ultimately refusing to marry her. Upkeep of heritage sites: Centre, UP asked to file reply Taking note of the dilapidated condition of archaeological heritage sites and structures at various places in Uttar Pradesh, such as Jhansi, Vrindavan, Agra, Lucknow and Hastinapur, the Allahabad high court has directed the Central and the Uttar Pradesh government and other respondents to file counter affidavits (replies) in response to a PIL within six weeks. "Priceless heritage structures in Uttar Pradesh are disappearing and turning into shambles", states the PIL seeking protection of 5,416 heritage sites in Uttar Pradesh. Other respondents of this PIL include the Union ministry of culture, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), National Monuments Authority (NMA), ministry of tourism, ministry of housing and urban affairs, and the UP State Archaeology Department. Earlier, on March 23, 2026, the high court had issued notices to the departments concerned in the state and the ministries in the central government to respond within eight weeks. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and justice Kshitij Shailendra passed the above order on May 25 while hearing a PIL filed by Akash Vashishtha, a heritage and culture proponent and lawyer. He stated that some of the most priceless heritage sites and structures in various districts of Uttar Pradesh were turning into shambles and dilapidated structures due to the abject failure of the concerned public authorities to protect and preserve them. According to the petitioner, about 3,500 archaeological heritage monuments and ancient sites exist across the state, which are lying completely unprotected, as per the official records, out of which only 212 are purportedly claimed to be protected by the State Archaeology Department....