The court clarified that allegations against a husband must meet specific legal standards of cruelty while highlighting the misuse of matrimonial laws with generalized accusations against in-laws lacking substance.

ORDER :

(M. NAGAPRASANNA, J.)

The petitioners are before this Court calling in question registration of a crime in Crime No.58 of 2024 registered on 02-12-2024 for offences punishable under Sections 115 (2), 351(3), 352 and 85 of BNS and Sections 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

2. Facts, in brief, adumbrated are as follows: -

Before embarking upon narration of facts, I deem it appropriate to notice the relationship between the protagonists in the lis. The 2^nd respondent is the complainant. The 1^st petitioner is the husband of the 2^nd respondent. 2^nd and 3^rd petitioners are the mother-in-law and father-in-law respectively of the complainant. The 1^st petitioner and the complainant get introduced to each other in the year 2022 through mutual friends. On 23-08-2023 the 1^st petitioner and the complainant get married. After one year of marriage, it appears, the relationship between the 1^st petitioner and the complainant flounders. On various allegations and grievances of floundering of the relationship, proceedings before various fora are instituted by the 1^st petitioner/husband against the 2^nd respondent/wife or the wife against the husband. The proceedings are for annulment of marriage and the allegations that would become ingredients of the provision of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (‘Domestic Violence Act’ for short). Apart from the aforesaid proceedings, the 2^nd respondent/complainant registers a complaint on 02-12-2024 before the Women’s Police Station, Kothnur, Bengaluru. The complaint then becomes a crime in Crime No.58 of 2024 for the afore-quoted offences. The moment crime is registered, the petitioners within 10 days of registration of crime, are before this Court in the subject petition. Owing to certain paragraphs in the complaint, on a prima facie observation that what was projected by the wife against the husband was with regard to the husband treating the cat in the house better than the wife, this Court granted an interim order of stay of investigation. On receipt of notice, the complainant has preferred an application seeking vacation of interim order, along with statement of objections. The matter, with the consent of parties, is heard.

3. Heard Sri Keshav M.Datar, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, Sri B .N. Jagadeesha, learned Additional State Public Prosecutor appearing for respondent No.1 and Sri R. Nagaraj, learned counsel appearing for respondent No.2.

4. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners Sri Keshav M.Datar would vehemently contend that a perusal at the complaint would clearly indicate that it is absolutely frivolous. There are no ingredients of cruelty for the purpose of demand of dowry. All that the complaint alleges is, the husband is a sexually perverted person demanding unnatural sex, alcohol addict, always indulges in cricket betting and playing Ludo. Barring this there is no allegation of cruelty against the husband. Mother-in-law and father- in-law are without any rhyme or reason dragged into these proceedings. He would seek quashment of the crime on the score that it is an abuse of the process of law.

5. Per contra, the learned counsel Sri Nagaraj R representing the complainant would vehemently refute the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners. He would take this Court through elaborate statement of objections to contend that every material that is alleged against the husband is suppressed in the case at hand. He has indulged in betting, deliberately twisting the arm every time for which the complainant has to be hospita