Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 498A and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act—Cruelty and harassment in connection with dowry demand—Conviction—Allegations made by complainant are vague, omnibus and bereft of any material particulars to substantiate the threshold of alleged offences—Apart from claiming that appellant husband harassed complainant for want of dowry, the complainant has not given any specific details or described any particular instance of harassment—Apart from statements of prosecution witnesses, there is no evidence to substantiate the allegations of harassment and acts of cruelty within the scope of Section 498A of IPC and Section 4 of the D.P. Act—Although one cannot deny the emotional or mental torture that the complainant may have undergone in the marriage, however a cursory or plausible view cannot be conclusive proof to determine the guilt of an individual under Section 498A and Section 4 of the D.P. Act, especially to obviate malicious criminal prosecution of family members in matrimonial disputes—FIR was registered after the appellant had filed divorce petition and it appears that the FIR registered by the complainant was not genuine—Material on record reveals nothing incriminatory against appellant to sustain conviction under Section 498A of IPC or Section 4 of the D.P. Act—Conviction set aside.
[Paras 9 to 12]
Section 498A and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act—Threshold of offences—An act of ‘cruelty’ for the purpose of Section 498A, corresponds to a willful conduct of such nature, that may cause danger to the life, limb and health of the woman, which is inclusive of the mental and physical health and the harassment caused to her, by coercing her to meet unlawful demands or impossible standards—Further, the demand for dowry in terms of Section 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act refers to both a direct or indirect manner of demand for dowry made by the husband or his family members—In order to meet the threshold of the offences under Section 498A and Sections 3 & 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, the allegations cannot be ambiguous or made in thin air.
[Para 8]
Section 498A and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act—Misuse of sections—Growing tendency to append every relative of husband, casts serious doubt on veracity of allegations made by complainant wife or her family members, and vitiates the very objective of a protective legislation—Term “cruelty” is subject to rather cruel misuse by the parties, and cannot be established simpliciter without specific instances—Tendency of roping these sections, without mentioning any specific dates, time or incident, weakens the case of prosecutions, and casts serious suspicion on the viability of the version of a complainant.
[Paras 13 & 14]