Recently, a Delhi court has cleared a husband and six of his relatives of charges ranging from dowry harassment to sexual offences, ruling that the complaint lodged by his estranged wife was a product of exaggeration and malice, devoid of credible evidence.
In an order, Metropolitan Magistrate Shruti Sharma observed that the complainant had levelled grave accusations, including demands for dowry, physical and sexual abuse, molestation, unnatural sex, and even attempted rape, without furnishing credible evidence or corroborative material. The Court noted the absence of medical records, proof of dowry transactions, or contemporaneous complaints, and held that the allegations appeared to be "exaggerated" with the intention of strengthening a weak case.
The case stemmed from an FIR, naming the husband, his father, brother, and other relatives as accused. The Court, however, noted that the allegations were vague, lacking specific dates, a chronological account of incidents, or any coherent narrative capable of sustaining the charges. The judge observed, “It appears that the complainant exaggerated actual facts and attempted to strengthen her case by levelling the gravest of allegations against all members of her husband’s family.”
On the charge of cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Court emphasised that the statutory threshold requires conduct so grave as to endanger the woman’s life or drive her to suicide. The judge cautioned against stretching matrimonial discord into the domain of criminality, observing that “giving matrimonial disputes a colour of a criminal offence is a far-stretched interpretation of Section 498A, which is not in consonance with the intention of the legislature.”
Regarding the allegation of molestation against the brother-in-law, the Court characterised it as an afterthought and devoid of independent corroboration. Similarly, the charge of misappropriation of stridhan was rejected for want of evidence establishing entrustment or dishonest retention.
The order also highlighted a recurring concern in matrimonial litigation, the tendency to implicate the husband’s entire family in dowry and sexual offence cases. The Court termed this practice an abuse of the law, noting that higher courts have repeatedly cautioned against such sweeping accusations.
All seven accused were accordingly discharged.
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