Woman misused police, burdened court : HC junks cruelty FIR against husband, kin | Mumbai News – Times of India
MUMBAI: Observing that a woman and her family members misused the police machinery and even made a mockery of the judicial system, Bombay high court quashed and set aside criminal proceedings for cruelty against her husband and his relatives.
In the verdict delivered on Friday, the court said this is yet another case where welfare provisions such as Section 498A etc., of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 enacted to address dowry related harassment and other forms of cruelty, both physical and mental, have been misused to harass the in-laws by roping them in a false case.
“Setting into motion law enforcement machinery leads to serious consequences for innocent family members. Elderly parents, siblings and distant relatives of the accused are often implicated in the complaint without direct involvement,’’ said Justices Ajay Gadkari and Neela Gokhale. They allowed the petition by the husband, his mother (63) and his aunts, aged 62 and 75 years.
In May 2006, a zero FIR was lodged in Satara on her father’s complaint. It was transferred to Pune. When the trial was pending before a JMFC court, the couple settled the matter before the Family Court. The woman told trial court there was no ill-treatment meted out to her by her husband or his relatives. In Nov 2007 they were acquitted. In Nov 2012, an FIR was lodged in Satara on her complaint of mental and physical cruelty against the four. In June 2016, HC stayed the proceedings. The husband’s advocate Omkar Nagvekar said since 2007, after a compromise was effected before the Family Court, the couple had resided separately.
In the order, dictated by Justice Gokhale, the judges noted that allegations in both FIRs were similar in nature. In the latter FIR, the woman included allegations she had deposed were due to misunderstanding. “It is clear that the complainant repeated her allegations made earlier in an attempt to somehow increase the number of purported instances of cruelty against these applicants. Having once deposed before a jurisdictionally competent court denying the ill-treatment, she cannot repeat the same allegations after the accused are acquitted based on her evidence,” they added. Also, in the present case, she did not refer to the earlier FIR and acquittal of the applicants and “concealed material facts from the police.” In April 2017, a Satara court granted her divorce “based on her allegations.”
The judges said the woman set the criminal law in motion “only with a view to rope in her husband and his relatives who did not even share residence with them and only to harass them to settle a personal grudge.” “Twice over , the police machinery has been misused to investigate similar allegations and burden the court of the JMFC with vexatious litigation. We find that the provision of 498A IPC has been totally misused by the complainant… we have no hesitation in holding that no cognisable offence is made out,” they concluded.
In the verdict delivered on Friday, the court said this is yet another case where welfare provisions such as Section 498A etc., of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 enacted to address dowry related harassment and other forms of cruelty, both physical and mental, have been misused to harass the in-laws by roping them in a false case.
“Setting into motion law enforcement machinery leads to serious consequences for innocent family members. Elderly parents, siblings and distant relatives of the accused are often implicated in the complaint without direct involvement,’’ said Justices Ajay Gadkari and Neela Gokhale. They allowed the petition by the husband, his mother (63) and his aunts, aged 62 and 75 years.
In May 2006, a zero FIR was lodged in Satara on her father’s complaint. It was transferred to Pune. When the trial was pending before a JMFC court, the couple settled the matter before the Family Court. The woman told trial court there was no ill-treatment meted out to her by her husband or his relatives. In Nov 2007 they were acquitted. In Nov 2012, an FIR was lodged in Satara on her complaint of mental and physical cruelty against the four. In June 2016, HC stayed the proceedings. The husband’s advocate Omkar Nagvekar said since 2007, after a compromise was effected before the Family Court, the couple had resided separately.
In the order, dictated by Justice Gokhale, the judges noted that allegations in both FIRs were similar in nature. In the latter FIR, the woman included allegations she had deposed were due to misunderstanding. “It is clear that the complainant repeated her allegations made earlier in an attempt to somehow increase the number of purported instances of cruelty against these applicants. Having once deposed before a jurisdictionally competent court denying the ill-treatment, she cannot repeat the same allegations after the accused are acquitted based on her evidence,” they added. Also, in the present case, she did not refer to the earlier FIR and acquittal of the applicants and “concealed material facts from the police.” In April 2017, a Satara court granted her divorce “based on her allegations.”
The judges said the woman set the criminal law in motion “only with a view to rope in her husband and his relatives who did not even share residence with them and only to harass them to settle a personal grudge.” “Twice over , the police machinery has been misused to investigate similar allegations and burden the court of the JMFC with vexatious litigation. We find that the provision of 498A IPC has been totally misused by the complainant… we have no hesitation in holding that no cognisable offence is made out,” they concluded.
