The single-judge bench of the Jharkhand High Court quashed the criminal proceedings against the petitioner initiated under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code and held that the increased tendency of implicating relatives of the husband in matrimonial disputes, without analyzing the long-term ramifications of a trial on the complainant as well as the accused, is under consideration in the case arising under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that the complaint was filed by the opposite party No. 2 in which it was alleged that the accused persons after some time of marriage started criticizing her for the gifts obtained during the time of marriage. However, when she objected then petitioner no.1 at the instance of his mother abused and assaulted her and started demanding Rs. 5 Lakhs. Furthermore, the parents of the complainant paid Rs.1 Lakh to her mother-in-law. It was also alleged that the accused persons then started assaulting her for Rs 4 Lakhs. They even tried to kill her by pressing her neck. After that, she found out that the case had been lodged by her husband for a decree of divorce.
Contentions of the Petitioners
The Petitioner submitted that the Petitioner had not committed any offense and the allegations are general in nature. It was furthermore submitted that the present case is just a counterblast to the Matrimonial Suit filed by petitioner no.1 under Section 13(1)(ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act for the dissolution of his marriage with opposite party no.2.
Contentions of the Opposite Party No. 2
The Opposite party no. 2 submitted that there are allegations against the opposite party no. 2 of torturing her. It was furthermore submitted that Petitioner No. 1 in spite of compromise in the petition under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act deserted her.
Observations of the court
The Hon’ble Court observed that the laudable objective of inserting Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code into the statute was to penalize husbands or their relatives for cruelty to their wives, especially if such cruelty could lead to a woman's suicide or murder, as stated in the Statement of Objects and Reasons of Act 46 of 1983. The majority of these complaints are brought in a moment of heat about trivial issues, as this Court and other Courts, including the Hon'ble Supreme Court, have noted. A large number of these concerns are not genuine. Implications and repercussions are not visualized at the moment the complaint is filed. Such complaints lead to uncalled for harassment not only to the accused but also to the complainant.
The court relied upon the judgments titled Rajesh Sharma v. State of U.P, Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, Preeti Gupta v. State of Jharkhand, Geeta Mehrotra v. State of U.P, and K. Subba Rao v. State of Telangana.
It was furthermore observed that the case originating under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code examines the growing trend of accusing husband's family members in marri
age disputes without considering the long-term effects of a trial on both the complainant and the accused.
It was noted that in the present case, general allegations are leveled against the Petitioners and none of the petitioners have been attributed any specific role in furtherance of the general allegation made against them. It is difficult to ascertain the role played by each accused in furtherance of the offense, which is the subject matter of the present case.
Based on these considerations, the court quashed the criminal proceedings against the Petitioners.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court allowed the petition.
Case title: Neeraj Kumar Singh Vs The State of Jharkhand
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi
Case No.: Cr.M.P. No. 3184 of 2018
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Praveen Shankar Dayal, Advocate
Advocate for the State: Mr. Bhola Nath Ojha, A.P.P.
Advocate for the Opposite No. 2: Mr. Sanjay Kumar Pandey, Advocate
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