Kochi: The Kerala High Court has dismissed a criminal case against a man charged under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with cruelty towards married women. The court ruled that without proof of a legal marriage between the man and the woman who made the complaint, there can be no prosecution for cruelty.
The case involved a couple who had been declared married, but a family court annulled their marriage in 2013 after determining that the woman was still legally married to someone else.
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The high court stated that since the marriage was declared null and void, it does not exist in the eyes of the law. "Thus it is emphatically clear that when there is no legal marriage, the woman's partner did not attain the status of her husband and an offence under Section 498A of IPC would get attracted only against her husband or relative/relatives of her husband. Therefore, in the absence of a legal marriage as borne out from the records, no offence under Section 498A of IPC would get attracted against the partner of a woman or against the partner's relatives since the partner without a legal marriage would not occupy the status of husband," it held.
The woman claimed that she faced cruelty from her husband during their time together after their marriage, which took place on November 2, 2009. However, the man’s lawyer argued that there was no legal marriage, which is necessary for a case under Section 498A.
The court noted that one key element for a charge of cruelty under this law is that it must be committed by the husband or his relatives. "Here the petitioner/1st accused never stood on the status of a husband at any point of time, since the marriage was null and void from the very beginning and the same was declared as such, subsequently. Therefore, the prosecution case to the effect that the petitioner committed an offence under Section 498A read with 34 of IPC would not stand and accordingly, this matter would require quashment. As the result, this petition stands allowed," the court ruled, quashing the criminal case and proceedings against the man.
Agency
Published: 02 Nov 2024, 08:01 am IST
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