The Court set aside the 1998 trial court decision to convict a man for abetment of suicide in the case dating back to 1995.
The Bombay High Court recently held that taunting a wife about her complexion does not cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) [Sadashiv Parbati Rupnawar v The State of Maharashtra].
In a judgment delivered on July 11, Justice SM Modak reviewed a case where the husband was convicted for abetting his wife’s suicide and for committing cruelty. The Court found the evidence insufficient to uphold the conviction and consequently overturned the trial court’s 1995 decision.
“In all prosecution examined five witnesses. There are certain admitted documents. They are evidence and documents. With their assistance, I find that the conviction is not supported by the evidence. On record, though Prema was being taunted on account of her complexion, I do not think that it will fall within the explanation to Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code. Even conviction for the offence punishable under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code cannot be sustained, because the prosecution could not prove the suicide being the outcome of the harassment,” the Court ruled.
The couple married in 1993, and the wife died by suicide in 1995. The police subsequently filed charges against the husband and father-in-law, though the trial court acquitted the father-in-law.
One witness testified that the wife faced harassment for her dark complexion and for not cooking properly.
In reviewing the husband’s appeal against his conviction and five-year sentence, the High Court concluded that the disputes in this case were not of such severity as to drive the woman to suicide.
“I have read the judgment of the trial Court. The trial Court is fully aware about the Explanation-(a) to Section 498-A:- The willful conduct must be of a high degree; however, when the evidence of the three witnesses are considered by the trial Court, there is no finding that the harassment is of high degree. There cannot be such a finding simply for the reason that even if the reasons for harassment are admitted, no case will fall under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code. The findings need to be set aside,” the Court ruled.