Sisters-in-Law compelling to show on video call that house was clean a peculiar and sadistic form of ill treatment: Bombay HC [Read Judgment]

Maharashtra: The Bombay High Court has delivered a significant order highlighting a peculiar form of domestic abuse while dismissing a petition to quash an FIR in a case of alleged dowry harassment and domestic violence.

A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Gadkari and Dr. Neela Gokhale dismissed a criminal writ petition challenging an FIR registered under Sections 498-A, 406, 504, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

Justices A.S. Gadkari and Neela Gokhale observed that the three sisters-in-law compelling the complainant to show on a video call that the house was clean was a peculiar and sadistic form of ill-treatment.

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The court noted that the petitioners, comprising the husband, father-in-law, and three sisters-in-law of the complainant, had sought quashing of the FIR and subsequent criminal proceedings.

Further, the court observed that the FIR contained specific allegations against each petitioner independently and collectively. The court held, 

“The allegations against the sisters-in-law pertaining to compelling the complainant to show them the house cleaned by her on WhatsApp video call appears to be a peculiar and sadistic manner of ill-treatment.”

Additionally, the court also observed that a fair reading of the FIR revealed that the complainant, a newlywed daughter-in-law, was pitted against the might of the five petitioners, who were abusing and ill-treating her on petty issues. The court also observed that the sole aim of doing so was apparently to extort money from her and her parents.

Further, the court also observed that, even after driving the complainant out of the matrimonial home, they refused to hand over her ‘Streedhan’ comprising valuable jewellery and her articles.

Expressing its view on the gravity of the allegations, the court stated,

 “This is enough to cause apprehension in the mind of the complainant that there was danger to her life and limb at the hands of the petitioners.”

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The court further observed that the petitioners had argued that the complaint was merely a matrimonial dispute given criminal color. However, the court found that the FIR prima facie disclosed the commission of the alleged offenses.

Additionally, the court, while relying on the judgment of Priyanka Jaiswal v. The State of Jharkhand and Ors., also emphasized that it should not conduct a mini-trial at the time of hearing a petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (‘Cr.P.C.’) for quashing of the FIR.

In conclusion, while dismissing the petition to quash the FIR and criminal proceedings, the court held that the FIR prima facie disclosed the commission of the alleged offenses, hence the court refused to quash the FIR and the consequent criminal proceedings arising therefrom.

[Read Judgment]