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Woman can file cruelty case under Section 498A IPC after divorce but only for incidents during marriage: Gujarat HC

Team SoOLEGAL 21 Aug 2023 3:18pm

Woman can file cruelty case under Section 498A IPC after divorce but only for incidents during marriage: Gujarat HC

New Delhi: The Gujarat High Court ruled that a woman can file a case claiming cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after divorce, but only for acts that occurred during the marriage

According to Justice Jitendra Doshi, such cases cannot be filed for acts or incidents that occur after a competent court affirms divorce and dissolves the marriage.

The Court clarified that in Section 498A of the IPC, the accused is referred to as "the husband" and "relatives of the husband."

According to the Court, this reflects the proposition that in order to level allegations under Section 498A of the IPC, the status of "the husband" or "relatives of the husband" must exist.

"This expression does not include 'former husband' or 'ex-husband' or relative of the former husband or ex-husband,” the judgment noted.

The Court did remark, however, that the same provision stipulates that a "woman" can file a Section 498A complaint, implying that she need not necessarily be the "wife" at the time of filing the case.

"The legislature while using expression 'the husband or relatives of the husband' in section 498A of the IPC, used the word woman and not wife," the court stated.

Therefore, the judge held that a complaint under Section 498A can be maintained even by a divorcee-wife, provided that the alleged incident of harassment and cruelty was meted out while the marriage existed.

The bench held "However, she cannot file complaint alleging offence under section 498-A putting allegation of an incident, which could have been taken place subsequent to the divorce. Once the competent Court passed the decree of divorce, the marital status of the husband and wife is snapped and the pre-requisite condition of section 498-A 'being the husband' or 'relatives of the husband' disappears."

The Court made the remark while dismissing a Section 498A case filed by a divorced woman approximately 20 months after her divorce. The case was filed against her ex-husband and his family.

Importantly, the Court decided that the former wife had not presented any particular allegations of cruelty or harassment during the marriage.

The bench stated "What appears from the bare reading of the FIR is that the complainant was aggrieved on the ground that her former husband remarried subsequent to divorce decree ... The complainant has also not mentioned as to how she was physically and mentally harassed by the petitioners. The allegations levelled are in general form."

The Court then dismissed the case, stating that it looked to have been filed to exact revenge and as a counterblast to the divorce order.



Tagged: Woman   under Section 498A  
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