Important Point
Mere beating of wife would not constitute cruelty within the meaning of Section 498A IPC.

JUDGMENT

Kuldip Chand Sood, J.— Cr.M.P. (M) No. 237 of 2003:

Heard.

Allowed for the reasons and suffi-cient cause disclosed in the application. Delay condoned. The application is disposed of.

Cr.M.P. (M) No. 1446 of 2003:

Be registered.

Heard.

This petition for leave to appeal is directed against the judgment of acquittal recorded by the learned Sessions Judge, Sirmaur District at Nahan, dated 1st October, 2002.

2. It appears, respondent Suvinder Kumar hereinafter referred to as the ‘husband’, was prosecuted for an offence punishable under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sirmaur, who convicted the accused and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment till the rising of the Court and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/-. In case of default in the payment of fine, the accused-husband was to suffer simple imprisonment for two months. The fine on realisation was directed to be paid to the wife.

3. Dissatisfied, the husband carried an appeal before the learned Sessions Judge, who acquitted the accu-sed-respondent.

4. The complainant was married to the husband in the year 1996. A son was born out of this wedlock. The case of the wife is that after one year of the marriage her husband started beating her. Her husband was addicted to liquor and used to beat her under the influence of liquor at the instance of his mother. Thereafter her mother­-in-law separated them and husband and wife started living separately at Kala Amb. There also, the husband continued to give her beatings and whatever she earned from tailoring work her husband used to take it away to buy liquor. On 24th November, 2000 when she was going to her parental house, accused intercepted her, gave beatings and threatened to kill her. She was rescued by her brother-in-law and father.

5. The only allegation against the husband was that he used to give her beatings under the influence of liquor and would even take away money earned by her to buy liquor. Learned Sessions Judge, looking to the provisions of Section 498-A of the Penal Code, found that the allegation made by the petitioner does not fall within the ambit of Section 498-A of the Act and acquitted the husband.

6. Section 498-A of the Code provi-des punishment to a person who, being the husband or the relative of the husband, subjects a woman to cruelty with imprisonment for a term extendable up to three years and fine.

Section 498-A reads:

“498-A. Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty.— Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.— For the purposes of this section, “cruelty” means—

(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

(b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.”

7. It may be noticed that the case of the prosecution admitting that husband used to beat his wife would not attract the provisions of Section 498-A of the Code. It is to be noticed that expression cruelty for the purposes of Section 498-A of the Code means deliberate conduct on the part of the accused which is likely to drive a woman to commit suicide. In the present case the prosecution is obliged to prove­—

(a) wilful or deliberate taunting or torture of a wife by the accused;

(b) such taunts/torture would drive in ordinary course of nature any normal woman to commit suicide.

8. This is so because Clause (b) of Section 498-A is not attracted in the present case. Mere beating of wife would not constitute cru