The Kerala High Court has ruled that charges under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which addresses cruelty against a woman by her husband or his relatives, cannot be applied if the marriage is considered void. This decision was made by Justice A. Badharudeen in response to a petition from a 47-year-old man from Thiruvananthapuram, who sought to dismiss a case initiated against him based on allegations from his wife.
The petitioner’s marriage, which took place in 2009, became contentious when his wife filed a complaint in 2010, claiming cruelty by him and his family. A charge sheet was filed against him in 2011; however, a family court in Kollam declared the marriage void in March 2013, determining that the complainant’s earlier marriage was still legally valid.
With the family court’s declaration of the marriage’s invalidity, the petitioner approached the High Court to seek the dismissal of the case under Section 498A. The High Court acknowledged that without a legally recognized marriage, the petitioner could not be considered a ‘husband,’ thus making the application of Section 498A inapplicable. Consequently, the court quashed the case and all associated legal proceedings.
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