Sexual Assault By Husband's Family Members Also Form Of Cruelty Under S.498A IPC, Doesn't Warrant Separate Trial: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that sexual assault on a wife by family members of the husband is also a form of cruelty under Section 498A of Indian Penal Code, 1860, and does not warrant a separate trial.

Justice Amit Mahajan said that if allegations are made by the wife against such family members, it can also be part and parcel of physical cruelty as defined in Section 498A.

The Court clarified that both the offences under Section 498A and 376 of the IPC must be connected in such a manner that they satisfy the threshold of being “a series of acts so connected together as to form the same transaction”.

“In the opinion of this Court, if the rape is committed by in-laws as an aggravated form of physical cruelty, the same cannot be deemed to be disjunct from the offence of cruelty so as to warrant a separate trial, especially since the psychological distress born out of the same would similarly persist,” the Court said.

Justice Mahajan was dealing with a wife's plea challenging a trial court order discharging the father in law and brother in law for the offence of rape on the ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction, with the liberty to the State to proceed with the prosecution against the accused persons before the appropriate court.

It was noted that the wife had alleged that she was raped at her matrimonial house in Haryana and no such incident was alleged to have taken place within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court.

Setting aside the impugned order, the Court said that the allegations of rape and cruelty met the requisites of Section 220 of the CrPC and thus, the accused concerned could be charged with and tried for the same at one trial for each of the offences.

“Therefore, on a combined reading of Section 184 and 220 of the CrPC, the alleged offences in the present case may be inquired into or tried by any Court competent to inquire into or try any of the offences,” the Court said.

It held that the alleged offences of rape and cruelty in the case were so connected that they formed part of the same transaction and hence, the trial court had the appropriate jurisdiction qua the offence of rape.

The Court remanded the matter back to the trial court for fresh consideration of the facts of the case on merits.

Title: H v. STATE GOVT OF NCT OF DELHI & ORS

Click here to read order