Orissa High Court: Section 498A IPC Case Cannot Be Quashed on Grounds of Invalid Marriage
The Orissa High Court recently ruled that proceedings under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) cannot be quashed by the High Court under Section 482 (inherent powers) of the CrPC on the ground that there was no valid marriage.
Single-judge Justice G Satapathy refused to quash a case against a man, stating, “It would be harsh to the women if the accused-man is allowed to take a plea of absence of valid marriage to escape liability under Section 498A.”
Justice Satapathy emphasized that it is extremely unfair to a woman who considers herself a wife by entering into a marital relationship and then becomes a victim of desertion by the man claiming there was no valid marriage.
The bench heard a petition filed by a man challenging a March 2014 order of a Magistrate who issued a process under Section 498A against him. This order followed an FIR lodged by a woman who claimed to be his wife. She alleged that she lived with the man in his village for over 80 days and that he harassed and tortured her both physically and mentally. She also accused his mother of starving her and forcing her to bring ₹50,000 from her father.
The Family Court had rejected her plea filed under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), finding that since the marriage was invalid, she could not be considered the ‘wife’ of the appellant.
Justice Satapathy noted that the FIR and the woman’s statements contained all necessary elements to constitute an offence under Section 498A IPC. He stated, “Whether a person who enters into a marital relationship be allowed to take refuge behind a smokescreen to claim that since there was no valid marriage, the proceeding under Section 498A IPC against him is not maintainable. Such pleas will have a deleterious effect on the morality of women entering into a kind of relationship of marriage with that person.”
The judge added that courts cannot undertake a “hair-splitting scrutiny” of the materials on record when exercising jurisdiction under Section 482 of the CrPC to prevent abuse of law.
With these observations, the bench refused to quash the FIR on November 29th.
Case Title: Jaga Sarabu Vs State of Orissa
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