A valid marriage is essential for convicting under Section 498A IPC; annulled marriages negate such charges.

ORDER :

C.PRATHEEP KUMAR, J.

This is a petition filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. by the petitioners are the accused in C.C.No.1414/2017 pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Mattannur, arising out of Crime No.607/2017 of Iritty Police Station. The offences alleged against the petitioners are under Section 498A of IPC.

2. The prosecution case is that the 1^st accused married the defacto complainant as per religious rights and ceremonies and while they were living together as husband and wife he along with the 2^nd accused subjected her to cruelty both physically and mentally and also appropriated her 15 sovereigns of gold ornaments and thereby they are alleged to have committed the aforesaid offences.

3. According to the learned counsel for the petitioners, as per Annexure A2 judgment of the Family Court, Kannur, the marriage between the 1^st petitioner and the defacto complainant was annulled and as such, the offence under Section 498A IPC will not lie against the petitioners. Therefore, she prayed for quashing all further proceedings against the petitioners.

4. The petition was strongly opposed by the learned Public Prosecutor.

5. From Annexure A2 judgment dated 20.02.2020, it is revealed that the Family Court, Kannur declared the marriage between the 1^st accused and the defacto complainant as null and void. In the decision in Shivcharan Lal Verma & another Vs. State of M.P. [2002 2 Crimes (SC) 177] relied upon by the learned counsel for the petitioner, the apex court held that the offence under Section 498A IPC will not stand in case the marriage is null and void.

6. In the decision in Suprabha v. State of Kerala [2013 (3) KLT 514] in a similar instance, this Court also held that a valid marriage is essential to attract the offence under Section 498A IPC. In the decision in P.Sivakumar v. State [2023 SCC OnLine SC 1737], also a similar view was taken by the apex court. Since in this case, the marriage between the 1^st accused and the defacto complainant was annulled by a competent court it is to be held that there was no valid marriage between the 1^st accused and the defacto complainant and as such the offence under Section 498A IPC will not lie against the petitioners.

In the result, this Crl. M.C is allowed. All further proceedings against the petitioner in C.C.No.1414/2017 pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Mattannur, arising out of Crime No.607/2017 of Iritty Police Station, stands quashed.