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A. BADHARUDEEN
Nimija – Appellant
Versus
State Of Kerala Represented By Public Prosecutor – Respondent
ORDER :
A. Badharudeen, J.
This Criminal Miscellaneous Case has been filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (for short, ‘the Cr.P.C.’ hereinafter) to quash Annexure 1 Final Report in C.C.No.618/2022 on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kuthuparamba, arose out of Crime No.218/2022 of the Kuthuparamba police station, Kannur, and all further proceedings thereof. The petitioner herein is the 3rd accused in the above case.
2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned counsel appearing for the de facto complainant and the learned Public Prosecutor.
3. In a nutshell, the prosecution alleges commission of offence punishable under Section 498A r/w Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short, 'the IPC' hereinafter) by the accused and the foundation for the said offence stems from the plank of marriage of the 1st accused and the de facto complainant on 8.4.2019. The specific allegation is that after the marriage, while the de facto complainant was staying at the matrimonial home, she was subjected to persecution by the 1st accused, who is her husband, the 2nd accused, father-in-law of the de facto complainant and the 3rd accused,
The term 'relative' under Section 498A of IPC includes spouses of siblings residing at the matrimonial home, and body shaming does not constitute cruelty unless it poses a serious threat to the woman....
The wife of a brother is considered a 'relative' under Section 498A of the IPC, and allegations of body shaming do not constitute cruelty as defined by law.
Only individuals defined as 'relatives' under Section 498A IPC can be charged; a non-relative cannot be held liable for offences under this section.
The court emphasized the necessity of specific allegations in Section 498A IPC cases to prevent misuse and quashed proceedings lacking prima facie evidence.
The court emphasized the principles of quashing criminal proceedings under Section 482 Cr.P.C. and cited relevant case laws to support its decision to quash the proceedings in the present case.
The judgment established the importance of specific allegations and cautioned against implicating relatives of the husband without prima facie evidence in cases under Section 498A of the Indian Penal....
The court established that specific allegations are necessary to sustain a charge under Section 498A IPC, preventing misuse of the provision in matrimonial disputes.
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