In a recent ruling by the Calcutta High Court invalidated the legal proceedings initiated by a woman against her husband and his relatives under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The woman had accused them of subjecting her to physical and mental abuse and forcing her out of her marital home. The Court based its decision on a previous case in which the woman had made similar allegations against the same individuals, resulting in their acquittal without any subsequent appeal by her.

As per the complaint, she claimed that her mother-in-law had started tormenting her after their marriage, leading her to return to her parents' home. She alleged that her in-laws forced her to work at their hotel and subjected her to further abuse. Furthermore, she stated that her husband physically assaulted her in January 2011, prompting her to leave the matrimonial home.

Following her complaint, a case was registered against the defendants under Section 498A of the IPC, which deals with cruelty by a husband or his relatives towards a woman. However, the Trial Court acquitted all the accused parties on August 17, 2019. Several months after the acquittal, the woman filed another First Information Report (FIR) under Section 498A of the IPC, alleging the same physical and mental abuse and dowry demands. In response, the defendants filed an application under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) seeking the dismissal of the criminal proceedings under Section 498A of the IPC.

During the proceedings, the counsel representing the defendants argued that the registration of the FIR and the initiation of the proceedings without conducting an inquiry were in violation of the law established in the Lalita Kumari v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. case. Additionally, it was mentioned that the petitioner-husband had already filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that the woman was not legally married to him, which was currently under consideration by the appropriate forum.

The court acknowledged that both the Supreme Court and High Courts have expressed concerns about the misuse of Section 498A of the IPC and the growing trend of implicating husbands and their relatives in matrimonial disputes. The court emphasised that a proper complaint should provide specific details of the offense committed by each accused person and the role played by them in the commission of that offense, rather than merely mentioning the section numbers and legal language.

The proceedings were quashed.