Recently, the Bombay High Court has quashed a cruelty case against a woman's in-laws, holding that merely remaining silent during marital discord or failing to take the daughter-in-law's side cannot, by itself, attract criminal liability under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. The Court emphasised that allegations of cruelty must disclose specific and deliberate acts falling within the statutory definition of the offence, a finding that could influence how courts assess the role of relatives in matrimonial disputes.
The case stemmed from an FIR lodged by a woman within months of her marriage, accusing her husband and his family members of ill-treatment, abuse and harassment. She alleged that she was prevented from using her phone, restricted from visiting her parental home, compelled to undertake household work, and that her jewellery was retained after she left the matrimonial home. While the husband and his relatives approached the High Court seeking quashing of the proceedings, the challenge before the Court eventually remained confined to the allegations against the parents, brother and sister of the husband. Their case was that the accusations against them were vague and lacked any specific role attributable to each of them.
Justice R.R. Bhonsale observed that the allegations against the in-laws were broad and unsupported by material showing their direct involvement in acts constituting cruelty. The Court noted that the offence under Section 498A of the IPC requires a wilful act of such nature as to drive a woman to commit suicide or cause grave injury to her life, limb or health. The Court observed, “A parent or relative, caught between the crossfire of allegations by and between two adults in a relationship of marriage, and who chooses to remain quiet, cannot be roped in an offence under Section 498A of Indian Penal Code.”
Holding that the allegations against the relatives amounted to vague and omnibus accusations, the Court quashed the FIR and criminal proceedings against the four in-laws while allowing the case against the husband to continue.
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