Sec 498 A: Husband tortured wife Having Inferiority Complex, found guilty: HC

Recently, the karnataka HC while upholding the conviction stated that perhaps husband was having inferiority complex, as wife was a graduate and working as a teacher.

The bench of Justice Ramachandra D. Huddar was dealing with the petition challenging the judgment and sentence affirmed by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, convicting and sentencing petitioner for the offence punishable under Section 498A of IPC.

In this case, the specific allegation of the complainant is that after marriage for 15 days herself and accused No.1, her husband was in cordial terms. It is alleged by her that this accused No.1 warned her that she would not be taken anywhere. 

She further alleged that by creating the problems, he started assaulting her. Harassed her, ill-treated her. To this illegal act of accused No.1, her sisters used to abet him.They used to abuse her in filthy language. Though they abused her in front of her husband, he used to keep quiet.

According to her, at the time of marriage, by way of dowry, Rs.32,000/- was given to the accused No.1 along with a golden ring. But accused No.1 was not satisfied. There was a persistent demand by him to bring money from her parental house.

The bench stated that in India, if the marital relationship is strained and if the wife lives separately due to valid reasons, the laws say that the wife can lay a claim for maintenance against her husband. “Marital relationship” means the legally protected marital interest of one spouse to another which include marital obligation to another like companionship, living under the same roof, sexual relation and the exclusive enjoyment of them, to have children, their up bringing, services in the home, support, affection, love, liking and so on.

High Court observed that mental cruelty, of-course, vary from person to person, depending upon the intensity and the degree of endurance, some may meet with courage and some others suffer silently, to some, it may be unbearable and a week person may think of ending once life. Here, in this case, there is a mental and physical torture by the accused, and because of this, the relationship between complainant and accused No.1 was strained. Therefore, if all these factual features coupled with the evidence placed on record, it can be stated that cruelty can either by mental or physical.

The bench opined that so far as sentence is concerned, the counsel for the revision petitioner/accused No.1 submits that, in case if the court comes to the conclusion that accused No.1 is guilty, then heavy fine may be imposed. Nowadays, there is an increase in the offense against the married woman by the husband and relatives of the husband. Because of the increase in such offenses, Section 498A of IPC was introduced in the year 1983 to protect married women from being subjected to cruelty by the husband or his relatives. A punishment extending to three years and fine has been prescribed. The expression, cruelty has been defined in wide terms so as to include inflicting physical or mental harm for the body or health of the woman, etc.

High Court stated that so, in this case, the argument of the counsel for the accused No.1 to show leniency can not be accepted. This case is of the year 2008. Now we are in the year 2023. Perhaps, accused No.1 must have learned lesson. Even there was no attempt made by him as per the submission of the State to bring back his wife to lead a happy marital life. This conduct shows that the accused No.1 does not have any love and affection towards his wife. In view of all these factual features, no grounds have been made by the revision petitioner/accused No.1 to show leniency in reducing the sentence. 

( LLM, MBA, (UK), PhD, AIMA, AFAI, PHD Chamber, ICTC, PCI, FCC, DFC, PPL, MNP, BNI, ICJ (UK), WP, (UK), MLE, Harvard Square, London, CT, Blair Singer Institute, (USA), Dip. in International Crime, Leiden University, the Netherlands )


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