The Gujarat High Court has quashed a cruelty FIR against a mother-in-law, holding that Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) could not be invoked as the complainant's earlier marriage was still subsisting when she married the applicant's son. [2026 LiveLaw (Guj) 290]

The complainant had alleged that the applicant, her mother-in-law, abetted her husband in subjecting her to cruelty.

Justice PM Raval noted that the complainant was previously married to another man before marrying the accused husband on February 1, 2007. The earlier marriage was dissolved only on November 20, 2007.

The Court held that since the complainant's earlier marriage was subsisting when she married the accused husband, their marriage was null and void. Consequently, Section 498A IPC was not attracted.

The court said that the allegations of physical abuse were made in November 2014 when original accused No. 1-husband, the mother-in-law and the complainant were residing in London.

"The allegations appear to be vague and general in nature. No specific details, date, time and or place have been narrated in the FIR. Further, in view of the afore-stated settled legal position, when the present applicant has been roped into the offence in question without there being any role attributed to her, the same does not inspire confidence," the court said. 

The complainant had also alleged that the accused husband remarried during the subsistence of his marriage with the complainant. To this the court said,

"Be that as it may, the allegations that the original accused No. 1 had married subsequently, to another girl...in the year 2012 and also obtained divorce from her, would pale into insignificance in view of the fact that the complainant herself entered into marriage with the son of the present applicant - original accused No. 1 in subsistence of previous marriage," the court said. 

The court thus quashed the cruelty case.