Asking Wife To Assist Family Or Stay With In-Laws Not Cruelty Under S.498A IPC: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that asking a wife to assist in caring for family members or to stay with in-laws cannot, by itself, amount to “cruelty” under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna made the observation while quashing an FIR registered under Sections 498A/406/34 IPC as well as proceedings under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, against a husband and his family members.

The Court found that the allegations made by the complainant were largely vague, omnibus and lacking specific details necessary to constitute the offence of cruelty.

Examining the factual assertions, the Court noted that the complainant had, at best, described circumstances reflecting ordinary matrimonial discord and lack of adjustment, not criminal conduct.

The complainant-wife had argued that her sister-in-law was unmarried, resided in the matrimonial house and controlled her husband's finances and influenced him regarding property matters.

The Court was however of the view that there is nothing un-natural for a family member to manage the affairs of a brother, while he was unmarried.

“Aside from bald assertions, that she had control over the finances of the husband, there is nothing to show how it was impacting her; there is no allegation that she was deprived in any way, by this alleged act of the Sister-in-law or any other family member,” it said.

The wife had also alleged that she was taunted for not not giving sufficient gifts at time of marriged. Moreover, the in-laws allegedly compelled her to keep her mother-in-law at her mother's house in Delhi every year, from November to March.

“Again, there can be no more vague, omnibus allegations that to sweepingly claim that she was taunted for not bringing sufficient dowry. Moreover, even if mother-in-law stayed with the Complainant in winter months, it leaves to ones imagination, how it tantamount to cruelty or harassment,” the Court said.

She had also alleged that she was pressurized by her brother-in-law to take responsibility for his 11-year-old son, by keeping him permanently at her mother's house, in Delhi.

Rejecting this claim, the Court said,

“Merely asking the Complainant to assist in caring for a family member cannot, by itself, constitute cruelty within the meaning of Section 498A IPC.”

The Court also found that the allegations relating to criminal breach of trust under Section 406 IPC were unsupported by any details of entrustment or misappropriation of stridhan.

Accordingly, the Court allowed the petitions and quashed the FIR as well as the complaint under the Domestic Violence Act.

Appearance: Ms. Jyoti Dutt Sharma, Mr. Chinmaya K. Bhatt and Ms. Amrita Pandey, Advocates for Petitioners

Case title: SP v. LT

Case no.: CRL.M.C. 297/2021

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