No case under section 498-A against a person not related to husband

Lokmat news Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Sanjay Deshmukh, has ruled that an FIR filed under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the petitioner, alleging physical and mental harassment, stands quashed along with all pending legal proceedings.

A person who is not related to the accused husband be it a friend (girlfriend) or a woman with whom the husband allegedly has an illicit relationship cannot be charged under Section 498-A, which pertains to cruelty against a married woman. Since there was no evidence of any marital relationship between the original accused and the petitioner, the court cited fundamental legal principles to justify the decision.

What Was the Petition About?

A married woman from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar had lodged a complaint at Shillegaon Police Station against her husband and his alleged girlfriend. In her complaint, she stated that her husband had secretly married his girlfriend. She also alleged that her husband continuously harassed her for ₹50,000 to buy a two-wheeler and, along with his girlfriend, verbally abused and physically assaulted her. The husband and his girlfriend eventually forced her out of the house.

Based on this complaint, the police had registered a case under Section 498-A of the IPC, which deals with cruelty by a husband or his relatives towards a married woman. Seeking to quash the FIR, the accused woman filed a petition in the High Court through Advocate Sudarshan Salunke.