‘Stinging words’ over dowry: Kerala High Court denies relief to woman’s mother-in-law

Saying that the continuation of criminal proceedings against a person against whom only “vague and bald allegations” are made would amount to an abuse of the process of law, the high court decided to dismiss the proceedings against the brother-in-law.

‘Humiliated over dowry’

The couple got married in September 2019, and it was claimed that after the marriage, while they were residing together as husband and wife, the husband allegedly took possession of 55 sovereigns of gold ornaments, which had been given to the woman by her parents as a gift at the time of the marriage. The husband is said to have handed it over to his brother.

Justice Jobin Sebastian found that the allegations against the mother-in-law were specific and pertained to cruelty.

It was alleged that the mother-in-law persistently subjected the woman to mental cruelty and humiliation by making derogatory remarks that the gold ornaments brought by her at the time of the marriage were insufficient.

In January 2020, the accused allegedly insulted the woman and when she attempted to record the incident on her mobile phone, the brother-in-law verbally abused her and slapped her. She also claimed that the brother-in-law threatened her with dire consequences. The woman said that he and her mother-in-law threatened and coerced her into selling the property in her name, and pushed her into mental distress.

‘Allegations vague’

The counsel for the petitioners, advocate P Anto Thomas, argued that even if the accusations are accepted in their entirety, they do not disclose the commission of cruelty, alleged under various provisions of the IPC, against the petitioners.

It was submitted that the allegations are vague and broad in nature and do not attribute any specific overt act to constitute the offences alleged. The counsel claimed that the criminal case was falsely filed against the petitioners and sought its dismissal.

One of the wife’s counsels, advocate Vishnu Bhuvanendran, argued that there are specific allegations against the petitioners. According to him, the complaint filed by the woman and materials collected during the investigation clearly indicate the commission of the alleged offence by the in-laws. It was also submitted that there are specific allegations that the petitioners ill-treated and harassed her in connection with the dowry demand.

Matter to be decided in trial: HC

The Kerala High Court observed that the scope of enquiry in a plea seeking quashing of criminal proceedings is limited to examining whether the essential ingredients of the alleged offences are made out on a plain reading of the allegations and the material placed on record. “If the allegations raise disputed questions of fact requiring appreciation of evidence, such issues are matters to be decided by the trial court after a full-fledged trial,” it added.

The court found that the allegations against the mother-in-law were specific and disclosed the ingredients of cruelty and dowry harassment and, therefore, rejected her plea to dismiss the proceedings.

At the same time, holding that continuing criminal proceedings against a person based only on “vague and bald allegations” would amount to an abuse of the process of law, the high court dismissed the proceedings against the woman’s brother-in-law.