The Madhya Pradesh High Court has quashed a case against a woman who was booked under IPC section
498-A, which is generally invoked in dowry death cases, after her lover's wife had allegedly killed herself.
498-A, which is generally invoked in dowry death cases, after her lover's wife had allegedly killed herself.
In the ruling two days ago, Justice Anjuli Palo held that a charge under IPC section 498-A (that deals with cases where husband or his relatives subject woman to cruelty and drive her to commit suicide) cannot be framed against the husband's lover in the case.
The petitioner before the HC had challenged the lower court's order to frame charges against her in connection with alleged suicide of Pratima Singh.
According to the police, the petitioner had an affair with the deceased woman's husband, Avinash Singh.
Pratima allegedly committed suicide by setting herself on fire on December 15, 2015. In her dying declaration, she had stated that her husband harassed her because he had an affair with the petitioner.
After her death, the police booked the petitioner along with the woman's husband.
After the lower court ordered framing of charges against her under section 498-A, the petitioner filed an appeal against it.
Her lawyer Bhupendra Shukla argued that the petitioner was not related to the deceased woman's husband, while the section 498-A only speaks of husband or his relatives treating a married woman with cruelty.
Further, there was no evidence that it was the petitioner who harassed the deceased woman, the lawyer said.
The high court upheld the argument and ordered that the petitioner's name be deleted from the case.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
