Be careful in criminal cases tied to matrimonial disputes: Calcutta HC | India News

KOLKATA: Courts need to be cautious when dealing with criminal cases based on matrimonial disputes, Calcutta HC said Wednesday while quashing FIRs against two women registered by their sister-in-law under IPC section 498A. The court noted that the allegations against the two petitioners were “general and omnibus” in nature.
The matter pertained to a case of cruelty and dowry harassment, filed by a Kolkata woman against her husband and in-laws on Sept 27, 2021.
A single bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta observed that tendency to implicate the husband and all his immediate relatives is not uncommon. “Even after the conclusion of a criminal trial, it is often difficult to ascertain the real truth. The courts have to be extremely careful and cautious while dealing with these complaints and should take pragmatic realities into consideration,” the bench observed.
The complainant alleged in the FIR that she was tortured, both mentally and physically, for dowry by her husband and in-laws. But, the judge noted that no specific role in the alleged harassment could be attributed to her married sisters-in-law, who approached the HC seeking quashing of the criminal complaint and chargesheet filed against them.
The court noted that the complainant got married on May 5, 2009, and had a child on March 1, 2010. She has been residing at her parents’ place with her daughter since Sept 16, 2021, and lodged the police complaint on Sept 27, 2021, after almost 12 years of marriage. The sisters-in-law named in the complaint got married on Feb 16, 2007, and Nov 3, 2009, and were living away from the complainant’s matrimonial home.
The woman alleged that her sisters-in-law threatened and harassed her over the phone. However, the court said no specific date, time, or mobile number was mentioned in her complaint or statement, thus making it impossible to ascertain the role of the petitioners in the offence.