498a Quash Judgment 05.09.2019- General Allegation against Parents-in-law and distant relatives is not ground to implicate under Section 498A IPC
 |
| 498A Quash Judgment 05.09.2019 |
498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019- In this article, the court held that allegations against the parents-in-law, other distant In-laws, and relatives of the wife sought to be summoned, are general in nature and there are no specific incidents mentioned against them by the wife. Bedridden parents-in-law and distantly living relatives make it difficult to believe how they can demand additional dowry and physically and mentally torture the wife. Therefore, the petition against the parents-in-law and other distant relatives is hereby quashed.
Case Brief- 498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019
According to the facts mentioned in the F.I.R. filed by the wife, the marriage between the wife and her husband was solemnized on 14.04.2014 and the father of the wife gave dowry beyond his capacity to the husband and his family.
It is stated that even at the time of the engagement, more cash was demanded by the husband and his family members, which was duly given to them, thereafter, the parents of the wife were asked to give more dowry, a big car, and expensive jewelry.
It is also stated that soon after the marriage, the In-laws started maltreating the wife, as they were not satisfied with the dowry brought by the wife. They started taunting the wife and also tortured her mentally and physically.
It is further stated that a number of times, she was pulled by the hair, given beatings, and locked in the room, and at times, she was thrown out of the matrimonial home during the nighttime.
It is also stated that the sister-in-law and brother-in-law of the wife also mentally tortured her on many occasions, whereas the mother-in-law and the husband of the wife kept on torturing her physically daily.
Case Brief- 498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019
Furthermore, it is stated that when the wife complained against her husband and her In-laws to her parents, the father-in-law threatened to kill the parents of the wife, and her uncle and aunt-in-law used to give her false solace, to prevent her from taking legal recourse.
It is also stated that the brother-in-law of the wife pulled her hair and gave her beatings several times, and the nephew of the husband got her signatures on blank papers and made her and her husband to leave the house.
It is further stated that the husband left the house on 30.03.2016 saying that he was going to Hyderabad for some work, thereafter, on reaching there he never called the wife, never picked up her call, and switched off his phone.
On 06.04.2016, a person came to the wife with divorce papers, which she refused to receive because no quarrel had taken place between the wife and her husband on 30.03.2016.
Upon this, the wife filed the FIR dated 17.08.2016 under Sections 323, 34, 498A, 506 IPC registered at Police Station, City, Bhiwani, against her husband, parents-in-law, and other In-laws.
Case Brief- 498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019
The FIR was investigated and the husband, parents-in-law, sister and brother-in-law, and other In-laws were sought to be summoned and were found innocent.
Thereafter, the wife filed an application under Section 319 CrPC for the summoning of parents-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, husband of sister-in-law, Uncle-in-law, and maternal nephew of the husband as additional accused.
The said application was dismissed by the Magistrate on the ground that the health condition of the parents-in-law is not good. The functional activities of the daily living of the mother-in-law are affected because of her respiratory disability, and she is almost bedridden. Any activity beyond the activities of daily living carries a risk of cardiopulmonary decompensation, including cardiopulmonary arrest.
Similarly, as regards her father-in-law, who is 77 years of age, is suffering from chronic heart disease, and due to his health condition, he has been advised to avoid stressful situations and prolonged exertional activities. He has required regular follow-ups at a tertiary cardiac care center and long-term medications. Thus, it was found father-in-law and mother-in-law of the complainant are having very bad health conditions and are under regular treatment.
So far as the application of the wife with respect to her sister-in-law and her husband is concerned, it was found that they live in Delhi and are not residing with the Other In-laws of the wife, and they have no connection in this case.
Case Brief- 498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019
Later the revision petition filed by the wife against the aforesaid order dated 10.07.2018 has also been dismissed by the court stating that the parents-in-law were suffering from various kinds of illness that included cardiac and respiratory problems. Brother-in-law, sister-in-law and her husband, and all other In-laws are residing at different places as the parents-in-law and the husband.
After that, the wife filed the present petition challenging the order dated 10.07.2018 and 26.04.2019 passed by the courts.
_________________________________________________
Read Latest Article- 498A Quash after Chargesheet 27.09.2022- Andhra Pradesh High Court-No Specific Allegation made against Brother-in-law. F.I.R Quashed.
Arguments- 498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019
The advocate appearing on behalf of the wife submitted that the wife has moved the application under Section 319 CrPC for the summoning of the sister-in-law, husband of sister-in-law, and other three relatives of the husband, as additional accused, as the police had intentionally deleted their names in collusion with them, despite there being sufficient material available on record against them.
It is also submitted that, however, the magistrate has dismissed the said application on 10.07.2018 and the court also dismissed the revision petition dated 26.04.2019 in a mechanical manner, the courts have taken into consideration the material and documents produced by the In-laws and have relied upon the same, while passing the orders.
It is further submitted that merely because the parents-in-law sought to be summoned had some health problems, it is not a relevant consideration to decline the summoning of them. Similarly, the sister-in-law and her husband have not been summoned merely because they are living separately.
Furthermore, it is submitted that there is no presumption in law that a sister-in-law or other relatives of the husband living separately cannot harass the wife and the wife had given specific instances and the manner in which she has been harassed and maltreated by her In-laws, but the same has not been taken into consideration.
Therefore, it is prayed to summon the parents-in-law, other In-laws, and distant relatives as additional accused.
_________________________________________________
______________________________________
Referred Judgements- 498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019
- B.S. Joshi & Ors. Vs. State of Haryana & Anr.
- Ramesh Vs. State of Tamil Nadu
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019
It is stated that the health condition of the parents-in-law of the wife does not only speak that they are not physically fit enough to move freely, both mother and father-in-law are almost confined to bed on account of poor health conditions and multiple diseases.
It is also stated that the parents-in-law are aged persons, the mother-in-law is almost bedridden, and she is getting treatment for respiratory failure and is on continuous oxygen therapy and non-invasive ventilatory support at home since 23.01.2014, and she. Similarly, the father-in-law, who is 77 years of age, is suffering from chronic heart problems. And as far as the sister-in-law and her husband are concerned, they are living separately in Delhi.
It is further stated that the allegations so leveled by the wife have duly been looked into by the police during the investigation and no such material has been left to be brought on record, warranting summoning of the In-laws of the wife and other relatives of the husband as additional accused.
It is also stated that the argument of the advocate for the wife that the aforesaid In-laws and relatives have been specifically named in the FIR has been dealt with by the trial court which has declined to summon them on account of the poor health of the parents-in-law whereas the sister-in-law and her husband being distantly placed and there is no entrustment of any dowry articles to them.
Furthermore, it is stated that the court feels that once the wife has sought summoning of even distant relations, it creates serious doubts about the allegations leveled against the In-laws of the wife as well.
Court’s Opinion- 498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019
The court has given complete reasoning and justification while dealing with the revision petition filed against the order dated 10.07.2018 passed by the Magistrate.
It is also stated that the allegations against the parents-in-law, other distant In-laws, and relatives of the wife sought to be summoned, are general in nature. Though it has been alleged that the additional accused were also involved in the physical and mental torture of the wife, but there is not a single specific incident against them to support such allegations.
It is further stated that the father-in-law and mother-in-law of the wife are almost bedridden, as their health conditions have duly been considered by the Court, whereas the other In-laws and relatives, sought to be summoned, are in distant relations of the husband and are living separately and far off from the place of her matrimonial home, and it is difficult to believe as to how those persons could be motivated to demand dowry.
In view of the above discussion, the court held that there is no illegality in the impugned orders passed by the courts and this petition deserves to be dismissed.
Therefore, the present petition filed by the wife against the parents-in-law and other distant relatives is dismissed.
_________________________________________________
Conclusion- 498A Quash Judgement 05.09.2019
In this article, the Court held that allegations against the parents-in-law, other distant In-laws, and relatives of the wife sought to be summoned, are general in nature and there are no specific incidents mentioned against them by the wife.
The court also held that the parents-in-law of the wife are almost bedridden, as their health conditions have duly been considered by the Court, whereas the other In-laws and relatives, sought to be summoned, are in distant relations of the husband and are living separately and far from the matrimonial home of the wife.
Therefore, the petition against the parents-in-law, other In-laws, and distant relatives is hereby dismissed.
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment