Bombay High Court: Relatives Can’t Be Charged Under Section 498A Without Clear Proof
The Bombay High Court has said that relatives of a husband cannot be charged under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) just for telling the wife to put up with her husband’s cruel behaviour.
The case involved a petition under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The petitioners were the relatives of the husband, accused of cruelty and rape along with him. The complaint was made by the wife, who said she was abused physically and mentally by her husband and in-laws, resulting in two miscarriages. She also claimed the husband had affairs and forced her into physical relations. She said the in-laws told her to tolerate everything.
The trial court dropped charges against some family members but continued the case against others.
A bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande said that the general remarks in the complaint were not enough to prove that the relatives had committed a crime.
The judges said, “It is not fair to keep prosecuting the husband’s relatives when there is no clear evidence that they were involved in any cruelty. They have only been dragged into the case because they are family.”
The Court reviewed witness statements and found no proof that the relatives had harassed or mistreated the woman.
The bench also pointed out that there is a growing trend of people naming in-laws and relatives in 498A cases without solid proof, which misuses the law.
The Court referred to a recent Supreme Court case (Achin Gupta v. State of Haryana) that urged lawmakers to rethink Section 498A. It also noted that necessary updates have still not been made in the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023, which replaces IPC but keeps similar rules.
Based on all this, the Court quashed the FIR against the husband’s relatives, saying they should not be prosecuted without specific and credible allegations.
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