Facing threats and harassment from a partner is a genuinely painful and confusing experience, made worse by the common but mistaken assumption that Indian law only protects women in intimate relationships. If you are asking what you should do if your girlfriend is threatening and harassing you, the honest and reassuring answer is that the law absolutely protects you too, and there are clear, practical legal steps available regardless of your gender. This answer sets out exactly what you should do if your girlfriend is threatening and harassing you, the relevant sections of law that apply, how to build your case, and how to protect yourself both from the harassment itself and from any retaliatory false complaints that sometimes follow when a relationship breaks down acrimoniously.

The first and most important thing to understand is that criminal intimidation under Section 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), which replaced Sections 503, 506, and 507 of the old Indian Penal Code, applies equally regardless of the gender of the victim or the accused. If your girlfriend has threatened you with harm to your person, reputation, or property — for instance, threatening to falsely implicate you in a criminal case, threatening self-harm to control your behaviour, threatening to leak private photographs or messages, or directly threatening physical violence — this squarely constitutes criminal intimidation, and where the threat involves death, grievous hurt, or destruction of property by fire, the enhanced punishment under Section 351(3) BNS applies, extending imprisonment up to seven years. You are fully entitled to file a police complaint for threats under this section, and the police cannot refuse to register your complaint on the ground that you are male or that the accused is your partner.

If the harassment involves demands for money, gifts, or property under threat — for example, your girlfriend threatening to make false allegations against you or your family unless you pay her a certain sum, transfer property, or continue supporting her financially against your wishes — this may amount to extortion under Section 308 of the BNS, which replaces Sections 383 to 389 of the old IPC. Extortion is a cognizable and serious offence, and the fact that the threat comes from someone you were once in a relationship with does not diminish its criminal character in the eyes of the law; if anything, courts recognise that intimate relationships are sometimes misused precisely because the perpetrator assumes the victim will be too embarrassed or conflicted to report the conduct, and reporting it firmly counters that assumption.

A particularly common and distressing pattern in these situations involves threats to make false complaints — such as threatening to file a false case under provisions relating to cruelty, sexual assault, or dowry harassment if you do not comply with certain demands, or threatening to circulate private or intimate content without consent. If actual private images or videos have been shared or threatened to be shared without your consent, this itself constitutes an offence under Section 77 of the BNS, which deals with voyeurism-related conduct in certain contexts, and more directly under provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, including Section 66E for violation of privacy by capturing or publishing images of a private area without consent, and Section 67 for the publication of obscene material electronically. These provisions apply regardless of the gender of the victim, so if you are being threatened with the release of private content, you have a clear and enforceable legal remedy, and you should preserve every message, screenshot, and recording of such threats immediately, without deleting anything even if it is uncomfortable to revisit.

When it comes to filing your complaint, approach the police station having jurisdiction over the area where the threats were made or received, and clearly state that you wish to register an FIR for criminal intimidation under Section 351 of the BNS, and extortion under Section 308 BNS if applicable, along with any relevant provisions of the IT Act if the harassment involves digital threats. If the officer at the desk is dismissive because you are the male party in the dispute, remind them, respectfully but firmly, that under Section 173 of the BNSS (the successor to Section 154 CrPC), registration of an FIR for a cognizable offence is mandatory once the necessary ingredients are disclosed in your complaint, and that refusal to register can be escalated in writing to the Superintendent of Police, or through an application to the jurisdictional Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS, who can direct the police to register and investigate your complaint. Do not let anyone tell you that the law offers you no protection simply because you are the male partner in the relationship — the criminal intimidation, extortion, and privacy provisions discussed here are entirely gender-neutral in their application to victims.

Documentation is everything in cases like this, and you should begin building your evidence file the moment you recognise a pattern of threats or harassment rather than waiting for a single dramatic incident. Save every threatening text message, voice note, email, and social media message with visible timestamps, keep a chronological diary noting dates, times, and the substance of any verbal threats along with the names of any witnesses present, and if your girlfriend has made threats over phone calls, consider recording future calls where legally permissible, since a recorded threat is often the single most persuasive piece of evidence in both a criminal complaint and any subsequent bail-related or protective proceedings. If friends, family members, or mutual acquaintances have witnessed the harassment or heard about the threats directly from you at the time they occurred, their contemporaneous knowledge can meaningfully corroborate your account later.

It is also important to think proactively about protecting yourself from retaliatory false complaints, which unfortunately do occur in some acrimonious relationship breakdowns. If you have reason to believe your girlfriend may file, or has threatened to file, a false criminal complaint against you, it is wise to consult a lawyer immediately to understand your options, including anticipatory bail under the relevant provisions of the BNSS in case a false FIR is registered, and to begin documenting your own version of events and any exculpatory evidence — such as messages showing the true, non-abusive nature of your conduct — well before any false complaint is filed. If a false complaint is eventually registered against you despite there being no substance to it, your remedies include seeking quashing of the FIR before the High Court under Section 528 of the BNSS (the inherent powers provision replacing the well-known Section 482 CrPC), and separately, once the false case concludes in your favour, you retain the right to pursue a defamation claim under Section 356 of the BNS and a civil claim for malicious prosecution against the person who filed the false complaint.

If the harassment escalates to a point where you fear for your immediate physical safety, you are entitled to approach the police for protective assistance, and in appropriate cases the jurisdictional magistrate can pass preventive orders under Section 163 of the BNSS (corresponding to the earlier Section 144 CrPC) to restrain your girlfriend from approaching or contacting you if there is a genuine and demonstrable risk of harm. While the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 is specifically drafted to protect women and is generally not available to male partners seeking protection orders against a female partner, this does not leave you without civil recourse — you can, where necessary, seek a civil injunction restraining harassment and unwanted contact through the ordinary civil courts, in addition to pursuing the criminal remedies already discussed, and a well-drafted combination of criminal complaint and civil injunction application is often the most effective practical strategy.

Because these situations involve overlapping criminal, cyber, and civil law considerations, and because they are often emotionally difficult to navigate on your own, it is genuinely advisable to consult an experienced advocate early, both to ensure your complaint invokes the correct sections and to help you anticipate and prepare for any retaliatory action. You can get in touch with the team at Aapka Legal Advice for a confidential consultation on documenting the harassment, drafting your police complaint, and, if needed, preparing anticipatory bail or quashing applications in case a false complaint is filed against you in response. Their experience in handling relationship-related criminal intimidation, extortion, and privacy-violation cases means you receive practical, judgment-free guidance rather than generic advice that does not account for the particular sensitivities of your situation.

Given how emotionally charged and legally layered these disputes often become, it can also help enormously to get an independent, experienced perspective from the panel of retired judges available for consultation through several legal service platforms, particularly former Sessions Court or High Court judges who have handled numerous matters involving intimate-partner threats and counter-allegations over the years. A short, confidential consultation with a retired judge can give you a realistic sense of how strong your evidence currently is, what additional documentation would strengthen your position, and whether mediation or a formal legal notice might resolve matters faster than a full criminal complaint, all of which can bring a measure of clarity and calm to what often feels like an overwhelming situation.

If you decide that formal legal representation is necessary — whether to file your complaint, respond to a threatened false case, or seek protective court orders — engaging a criminal lawyer experienced specifically in relationship-related harassment and intimidation matters will make a substantial difference to how quickly and effectively your situation is resolved. You can review Top Criminal Lawyers in India | Aapka Legal Advice to find advocates with relevant experience, and request an initial assessment from the panel of retired judges to independently evaluate your evidence before deciding your next steps.

To summarise, if your girlfriend is threatening and harassing you, you have full legal standing to file a police complaint for criminal intimidation under Section 351 of the BNS, pursue extortion charges under Section 308 BNS where money or compliance is being coerced through threats, invoke the IT Act if private content is being threatened for release, and protect yourself proactively through anticipatory bail or quashing remedies if a retaliatory false complaint is filed. Document everything meticulously from the outset, do not be discouraged by anyone who suggests the law does not protect male victims of relationship-based threats and harassment, and involve an experienced advocate early so that your response is legally sound, strategically prepared, and focused on both stopping the harassment and protecting your own long-term interests.