The Jharkhand High Court has recently ruled that refusing to provide medical aid to a wife to enforce dowry demands qualifies as cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This decision came as the court upheld the conviction of Sanjay Kumar Rai, who was found guilty of mistreating his wife, Neelam Devi, for dowry.
Justice Ambuj Nath, who led the bench, was handling three criminal revision petitions related to the case. The first petition was filed by Neelam Devi, later represented by her father, Ram Kripal Singh, after her death. The second was filed by Neelam’s husband, Sanjay Kumar Rai, challenging his conviction under Section 498A of IPC. The third petition was from Neelam’s father, who challenged the acquittal of her brother-in-law, Bhageshwar Roy, under the same section.
Neelam Devi’s complaint, which initiated the case, detailed how she married Sanjay Kumar Rai in June 2006. She alleged that in her husband’s absence, her in-laws tortured her, and when she complained to her husband, he demanded a car as dowry. After being forced out of her marital home, she was made to sign blank papers. Neelam also revealed that when she was diagnosed with cancer, her husband refused to provide medical treatment, citing insufficient dowry from her father.
The court examined the evidence, including witness testimonies, and found that general and unclear allegations were made against Neelam’s in-laws regarding her mistreatment. There were no specific instances of injury or credible evidence to support her claims against them. Therefore, the High Court upheld their acquittal.
However, regarding the husband’s refusal to provide medical care to Neelam during her illness, the court confirmed that this amounted to cruelty under Section 498A IPC. Both the Trial Court and the Appellate Court had concluded that Sanjay Kumar Rai’s actions were aimed at enforcing dowry demands. His conviction was therefore upheld, and his revision plea was dismissed.
The case was titled Ram Kripal Singh vs. The State of Jharkhand and others along with related revision petitions.
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