'No Public View': Calcutta High Court Quashes Cruelty Case Against Husband, In-Laws Over Wife's Allegations Of Caste Abuse
The Calcutta High Court has quashed criminal proceedings under the SC/ST Act against five persons, including a husband and his family members, observing that there was no material in the FIR, charge sheet or case diary to establish that the complainant was abused or insulted on the basis of her caste in a place within public view.
Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) quashed proceedings arising from cases registered under Sections 498A, 406 and 34 of the IPC and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The Court noted that the allegations primarily concerned matrimonial discord. The complainant had alleged that her husband and parents-in-law subjected her to mental and physical torture and humiliated her by stating that they had made a mistake by marrying a woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste family. She further alleged that they threatened to drive her out and arrange for her husband to marry a woman from a higher caste.
The petitioners argued that the original complaint did not contain allegations attracting the SC/ST Act and that the caste-related allegations were introduced in a subsequent complaint to the Investigating Officer.
The Court noted that the initial written complaint dated January 21, 2020, lodged after the complainant had been staying at her parental home for 66 days, contained no allegation under the SC/ST Act.
The Court examined the statutory requirements of Section 498A IPC and relied upon the Supreme Court's judgment in Dara Lakshmi Narayana & Ors. v. State of Telangana & Anr., which cautioned against prosecuting members of a husband's family on the basis of vague and generalised allegations unsupported by specific allegations of their involvement.
The High Court also considered the Supreme Court's decisions in Hitesh Verma v. State of Uttarakhand and Ramesh Chandra Vaishya v. State of Uttar Pradesh concerning the requirement that an offence under the SC/ST Act involving insult or intimidation must have occurred in a place within public view and, in the relevant context, must be connected to the victim's caste.
Referring to the material before it, the Court observed: “There is no material in the case diary to show that the de facto complainant was allegedly abused in public.”
It further held: “Though the de facto complainant states that she has been insulted due to her caste, there is absolutely no materials or statements on record to make out any of the offences against the opposite party as alleged, neither in the FIR, nor in the charge sheet.”
Case No: CRR 529 of 2021
Case: Anita Mahajan & Ors. Vs. The State of West Bengal & Anr.