HC Quashes False Dowry Case, Lets US-Based Husband Take Legal Action Against Wife
In an important judgment, the Karnataka High Court canceled a dowry harassment case filed against a US-based man and allowed him to take legal action against his wife for malicious prosecution.
The couple got married in May 2020. Just two months later, the husband left for the US because his H1B visa was about to expire. According to him, his wife moved out of their marital home in January 2021 and stayed with her relatives. She missed several visa appointments until she finally got a US visa on her fifth try in September 2021.
However, the relationship turned sour, and the husband filed for divorce in December 2021. He also filed a police complaint. In February 2022, the wife filed her own complaint under the Dowry Prohibition Act. The police submitted a chargesheet, and a magistrate took up the case in June 2022.
The wife accused her husband of having a sexually transmitted disease and claimed he didn’t want to take her to the US. She also said he earned more than ₹2 crore a year but refused to share it in a settlement.
In his defense, the husband said the accusations were false and that he had even undergone medical tests, including for HPV, which all came back clear. He alleged that his wife wanted ₹3 crore and was using the legal system to pressure him.
Justice M Nagaprasanna reviewed the case and found that the wife had received traditional wedding gifts (streedhana) — 614 grams of silver and 160 grams of gold — but there was no proof of dowry demands or cruelty. He also noted that an email from December 2021 showed the husband was trying to confirm her travel plans to the US, which went against her claim that he didn’t want her to join him.
The judge concluded that the wife had misused the law and filed a false case against her husband. He said, “This is a clear misuse of legal provisions, and the criminal case has no solid grounds.”
As a result, the court not only canceled the proceedings against the husband but also allowed him to file a case against his wife under Section 211 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with false accusations.
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