A friend cannot be said to be a relative as he is neither a blood relative nor does he have any relation through marriage or adoption, the Court noted.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court recently ruled that a husband’s friend cannot be prosecuted under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, as he does not qualify as a ‘relative’ under the statutory definition.
“A friend cannot be said to be a relative as he is neither a blood relative nor he was having any relation through marriage or adoption. Therefore, considering above facts and upon plain reading of Section 498A of the IPC, we come to the conclusion that a friend of husband will not fall under the definition of ‘relative’ of the husband as contemplated under Section 498A of the IPC,” a division bench of Justices Anil Pansare and MM Nerlikar observed.
The case stemmed from an FIR lodged by a woman in 2022, alleging that her husband, his parents, and his friend had subjected her to cruelty.
She specifically claimed that the friend frequently visited the matrimonial home and provoked her husband to demand a plot of land and a car from her father. Additionally, it was alleged that he urged the husband to avoid living with her and to send her back to her parental home if the demands were not fulfilled.
Although the prosecution urged the Court to interpret the term ‘relative’ broadly to encompass anyone who harasses the wife, the Court referred to a Supreme Court judgment which clarified that even a girlfriend or a woman involved in a romantic or sexual relationship outside of marriage cannot be deemed a ‘relative’ under Section 498A.
Following the same rationale, the Court concluded that a friend does not fall within the scope of a ‘relative’ as defined in the provision.
Accordingly, the proceedings against the friend were quashed. However, the case against the husband and his parents will proceed, the Court clarified.