Calling wife ‘Bhoot’ and ‘Pishach’ not cruelty, abuse in failed marriages: Patna HC Achi-News

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A single judge bench of Justice Bibek Chaudhuri noted that the use of foul language does not amount to ‘cruelty’ under Section 498A (cruelty towards a wife by a husband or his relatives) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The bench was hearing a petition filed by Shahdeo Gupta and his son Naresh Kumar Gupta, residents of Bokaro Jharkhand.

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The Patna Court observed in a case filed in 1994 by the divorced wife of Naresh Kumar Gupta in Nawada, her native place. The indebted father-son took the case to the High Court after they were slapped with one year’s rigorous imprisonment by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, in 2008, which was dismissed 10 years later.

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The complainant accused the husband and father-in-law of physical and material torture to demand a car as dowry. Later, the case was transferred from Nawada to Nalanda at the request of the father-son duo. After the duo got a year’s imprisonment, the husband and wife were granted a divorce by the Jharkhand High Court.

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What did the High Court say?

Opposing the petition filed before the Patna High Court, the advocate of the divorced woman pleaded that she was called a “boot” and a “pishach” by her in-laws, which was “a form of extreme cruelty”. However, the court said it was “not in a position to accept such an argument”.

“In marital relations, especially in a failed marital relationship”, there have been cases of “the husband and wife” having “abused each other” with “dirty language”.

“However, not all such charges fall within the veil of cruelty,” he said. The HC also observed that she had been “harassed” and “cruelly tortured” by the accused but the complainant failed to make “specific allegations against either petition”. Based on HC observation, judgments passed by the lower courts were struck down.

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Published: 30 Mar 2024, 10:02 PM IST