In a groundbreaking decision on November 30, the Supreme Court quashed criminal proceedings related to the charge of cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, asserting that a solitary incident, unless notably severe and lacking clear evidence of interference in the complainant’s marital life, is inadequate to implicate an individual under this provision.
The bench, comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S.V.N Bhatti, emphasized that a single instance, devoid of substantial evidence of involvement in the complainant’s married life, does not meet the threshold for alleging cruelty under Section 498A of the IPC.
The case in question involved the inclusion of the husband’s sisters and cousins as accused parties in the complaint filed by the wife. Subsequently, the sisters and cousins petitioned the Karnataka High Court to quash the charge sheet, which was initially dismissed, leading to the appeal presented before the Supreme Court.
Upon reviewing the written complaint and the charge sheet, the Apex Court noted that only one of the two allegations against the sister of the accused was substantiated – involving the throwing of the wife’s belongings and the use of offensive language. Furthermore, the Court highlighted that the sister resided and worked in Canada, while the other appellants lived separately from the marital home.
Citing the vague and general nature of the assertions in the charge sheet and considering the appellants’ absence from the marital home, especially the first appellant residing outside India, the Court accepted the appeal, resulting in the quashing of criminal proceedings.
However, the Court clarified that if any concrete evidence emerged during the trial, the Trial Court retained the authority to proceed against the appellants.
(Diary No.- 13940 – 2019: MAHALAKSHMI vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA)
