The Kerala High Court has ruled that allegations against the relatives of a husband in cases of alleged cruelty under Section 498A of the IPC cannot be dismissed outright as false without properly addressing and evaluating the claims.

The Single-Bench of Justice A. Badharudeen emphasized that while sweeping and general allegations are insufficient to attract the offence, specific allegations made with certainty must be considered on a case-to-case basis.

The Court remarked, "It is noticed that the relatives of the husband are being roped into prosecution alleging commission of offence under Section 498A of the IPC on the basis of general allegations without specifying the overacts with certainty. At the same time, it is not possible to lay down a ratio such that allegations against the relatives of the husband generally to be viewed as false as a thumb rule and to drop proceedings against them without addressing the allegations. In fact, the allegations should be evaluated in a case to case basis."

Case Details

In the case at hand, the complainant alleged that her husband, with whom she married in 2005, along with his mother and brother (co-accused), had subjected her to cruelty. She claimed her husband would consume alcohol and, along with the accused, physically assaulted her.

Further, she alleged that they forced her to vacate their new house and hand over its key to her mother-in-law. The accused were also reportedly unhappy about the complainant's parents residing with her, leading to verbal and physical abuse.

Court’s Observations

The Court noted specific allegations that the mother-in-law and brother-in-law threatened and abused the complainant. It highlighted that while quashing proceedings might be appropriate in cases with only broad, general allegations, the presence of specific claims warranted a trial.

"When allegations are specific against the relatives of the accused, a trial is necessary, and any prayer for quashing proceedings would fail," the Court stated.

Conclusion

The Court dismissed the petition seeking quashing of proceedings and directed the mother-in-law and brother-in-law to face trial for the charges under Section 498A of the IPC. "In the instant case, as per the complaint as well as the additional statement given by the de facto complainant, there are specific allegations against the 2nd petitioner/the 3rd accused prima facie to show that he has committed offence punishable under Section 498A of the IPC as well as under Section 506(i) of the IPC, warranting trial. Therefore, the quashment prayer is liable to fail....this petition is dismissed with direction to the 2nd petitioner/the 3rd accused to face trial and take his defence before the trial court. Since the 1st petitioner/2nd accused is now no more, the case against her stands abated, and the petition at her instance stands abated. The interim order of stay granted by this Court, stands vacated," the Court ordered.

Cause Title: V.Karthyayani v State of Kerala [Neutral Citation No. 2025:KER:3684]

Appearance:-

Petitioner: Advocate T.K.Vipindas

Respondent: Public Prosecutor (PP) Jibu T S, Advocate S Arunkumar

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Justice A BadharudeenSection 498A of IPC

Sukriti Mishra

    Sukriti Mishra was a Legal Correspondent at Verdictum. She covered the Supreme Court. She completed her graduation with BA. LL.B (Hons.) from The ICFAI University, Dehradun. Sukriti started covering courts in March 2022. She had previously worked with another legal news portal, where she covered the Delhi High Court and Trial Courts.