The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has overturned the conviction of a man and his family members who had been accused of cruelty towards his wife. The court ruled that actions such as preventing her from watching television, going to the temple, meeting neighbours, and making her sleep on the carpet did not amount to "severe" cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A single-judge bench led by Justice Abhay S. Waghwase concluded that these allegations were related to domestic affairs and did not constitute physical or mental cruelty. The court also rejected claims made by the woman's family that she had been forced to fetch water at midnight. It noted that in the village where the family lived, water supply began at midnight, and it was common for households to collect water at 1:30 a.m.
The family had been convicted by a trial court, which found that ill-treatment had driven the woman to suicide on May 1, 2002. However, the high court noted there was no evidence to suggest that the accused's actions were linked to her suicide. ""There is a gap of almost two months since deceased, complainant and witnesses met each other. They (mother, uncle and aunt of deceased) have admitted that, there was no communication from deceased either written or oral, she has not conveyed that there was any instances of cruelty in proximity to suicide," the court said.
The court further stated that there was no clear evidence of any demand, cruelty, or mistreatment close to the woman’s death, and what triggered the suicide remained a mystery.
(with inputs from Live Law)