False implication of husband's relatives is an abuse of law: HC

CHENNAI: Observing that time and again it has been held in the various judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts that the court should be cautious in dealing with the complaints given about matrimonial disputes, the Madras High Court ruled that the tendency to implicate the relatives of the husband unnecessarily in a case would amount to an abuse of the process of the court.

Justice RN Manjula made the observations on allowing a petition filed by Saroja and M Kanjana. The petitioners are the accused in a woman harassment case booked under Section 498 A of the IPC. The complainant was the wife of the petitioners' son and brother respectively.

The petitioners - mother and daughter prayed for a direction to quash the FIR and the case pending before the Judicial Magistrate-I, Pollachi.

According to the petitioners, they were falsely foisted into the case since the complainant and her husband had a matrimonial dispute. However, the complainant submitted that her husband and the petitioners here demanded one crore rupees for purchasing a house at Devakottai and harassed her.

She further informed the court that she has been working in Australia. When she visited India in 2017 for her sister's marriage, her husband's family denied her a ticket to return to Australia and demanded the money according to the complainant.

Recording the submissions, the judge held that when the complainant can obtain a visa, it is unbelievable that is not in a position to get flight tickets.

"The complainant has not lived with the petitioners. The FIR does not disclose any offense against the petitioners by establishing the prima facie case that they had continuously ill-treated her, " the judge observed, adding, "In order to prevent the abuse of process of the Court and serve the ends of the justice, I feel it is appropriate to invoke the power of the Court under Sec.482 CrPC to quash the proceedings against the petitioners."

Justice Manjula quashed the FIR after making a reference to the order of the Supreme Court in the case of K Subba Rao Vs the State of Telangana saying that the relatives of the husband should not be implicated on the basis of omnibus allegations.