Keywords – Divorce, Torture.
Karnataka High court dismissed a petition filed by a husband seeking to course the complaint registered by his wife under Section 498 A of Indian Penal Code after he sent her legal notice seeking amicable settlement for dissolution of marriage.
Fact of the case is a woman had laughed a complaint under Section 498 A, 307 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act ,1961 against her husband and had alleged that there were several accidents of mental and physical torture against her by her husband. She also told that her husband tried to take away her life by strangling her. She had to take treatment for spinal cord injury as per her she had left the matrimonial house after alleged torture and her husband send a legal notice seeking amicable settlement and resolution of the dispute between them, for the purpose of dissolution of marriage.
The husband contained in the petition that the complaint is a counter blast to his legal notice and the offensive under Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code are not made out.
The matter was heard by a single bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna the court observed “ There can not be declaration of a law as is contended by the learned council for the petitioner that once the divorce notice is sent by the husband , the complaint registered by the wife there after loses its significance. If this contention is accepted, it would have a chilling effect on all the complaints. Therefore, this submission is noted only to be rejected, as it is fundamentally flawed”.
The court went through complaint and based on it was of the view that Prima Facie offences alleged made out and they are to be investigated. It is said in High court “the statements recorded during investigation clearly indicate that those ingredients are Prima Facie met. Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code is also alleged against the petitioner. The complaint clearly makes out ingredients of the offence under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code which deals with attempt to murder, strangulation and giving blows on the back is what is alleged in the complaint . If these ingredients are to be ignored and brushed aside merely because the complaint is registered immediately after receipt of the notice of divorce or amicable settlement for dissolution of marriage it would lead to a disastrous effect”.
The court explained that in given case if the allegations of torture are made over a period of time the husband issuing a notice for divorce simultaneously or immediately before the complaint will not result in complaint making itself insignificant. The court said , “ It would require 1 https://www.livelaw.in/ investigation. It would be altogether a different circumstance if the complaint does not even make out ingredients of the offence so alleged or does not lay down the necessary foundation for alleging the offences in a given case”. Then the bench agreed that there are many cases where member of family unnecessary dragged into the web of the crime by the wife while registering the complaint invoking Section 498 A of Indian Penal Code. However, the allegations have to be considered on case to case bases. It disagreed with the coordinate bench judgement which held that FIR should be quashed on a sole ground that the crime is registered after receipt of a notice seeking dissolution of marriage. The bench said, “It defeats the very object of Section 498 A of the Indian Penal Code or even complaints made under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violation Act, 2005. The court noted that Section 498 A was brought in Indian Penal Code with the objective to prevent a torture to a woman by her husband or by the relatives of the husband.
Written by – Drishti Pandey College – S.S.Khanna Girls Degree College, University of Allahabad Semester – 4 th an intern under legal vidhiya
