Supreme Court Acquits Husband of Cruelty Charge

Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: Observing that differences are a part and parcel of married life and may result in non-communication between partners, Supreme Court has said that a husband cannot be convicted of cruelty merely on the ground of not talking to his wife for a few days. A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Atul S Chand acquitted a man who was convicted by trial court and Madras high court under Section 498A of Indian Penal Code for subjecting his wife to cruelty and sentenced to a three-year jail term. He had not been on talking terms with his wife for 13 days, which led to her dying by suicide. The court said, "Therefore, in absence of any material, mere non-communication with the deceased for thirteen days, without substantiating the same with cogent evidence, cannot, in any stretch of the imagination, fall within the ambit of cruelty in the facts of this case..." The case was not even one where there was some quarrel between appellant and the deceased, due to which appellant could have been convicted by trial court, SC said. There was insufficient evidence to prove allegation of cruelty against the husband, something the high court judgment failed to take into account, it said. The court said that what needs to be determined is whether the gravity or seriousness of the act is of such a nature that it is likely to drive a woman to die by suicide or cause injury or pose danger to her mental health. In order to establish cruelty, the wilful conduct of the accused must be of a compelling nature. "In this regard, persistent harassment within a close proximity of time of lodging the complaint may be a relevant factor. It is, further, clarified that a petty quarrel cannot be termed as cruelty to attract charge under Sec 498A. It is incumbent upon Courts, therefore, to analyse the facts and circumstances, the act on the part of the accused and gauge its impact," bench said.

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