A Delhi court has dismissed a plea of husband and in-laws of a woman challenging the framing of charges of dowry harassment, saying that the "facts" of the case raised "grave suspicion" against them.
Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal, while upholding a magisterial court's order framing charges against them under Section 498A (husband/relative subjecting women to cruelty) read with 34 (common intention) of the IPC, said the torture caused to the woman could have posed danger to her life.
"The facts of the complaint show that husband and his relatives in furtherance of their common intention subjected the woman to cruelty by doing willful conduct of such nature as was likely to cause grave injury or danger to her life or health and also harassed her with a view to coerce her to meet unlawful demand of dowry.
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"The said facts thus raise a grave suspicion against revisionists for framing a charge under Sections 498A and 34 of IPC against them," the court said.
The court was hearing a revision petition filed by the woman's husband and his family members against a magisterial court's December 2013 order directing framing of charges against all the accused.
The husband, who was additionally charged under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the IPC, alleged that he had married the woman in 2008 after a love affair against the wishes of their families and she never wanted to live with her in-laws.
He further claimed that the woman used to ill-treat his grandmother and uncle due to property dispute, adding that few months later she left the house with their new-born child and lodged a false case of dowry harassment against him and his relatives in 2009.
The woman in her complaint had alleged that her husband used to beat her under the influence of alcohol and coerce her to get money and other articles from her parental house.
She had also alleged that at the behest of his family members, her husband had beaten her up when she was pregnant and had forcibly taken her ornaments and other wedding items away.
