BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court held that a stranger or neighbour cannot be drawn into proceedings between a husband, wife or family members for an offence under Section 498A (Husband or relative of husband subjecting wife to cruelty) IPC.
Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order while quashing proceedings initiated against the woman-petitioner, who is a neighbour of the couple, by the wife who filed a case against her husband under Section 498A and other provisions. Noting that permitting further proceedings against the petitioner would become abuse of the process of law and result in miscarriage of justice, the court quashed all proceedings pending against her before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in the city.
The couple got married in 2006, but their marriage was on the verge of collapse. The wife registered a complaint with Mahalakshmi Layout police in 2021. Police filed a chargesheet after investigation and issued summons to the petitioner, who was arraigned as accused No.5.
The petitioner’s counsel contended that the petitioner has no role to play in the family of the other accused, that she is a neighbour, and the only allegation against her was that she instigated the husband to behave in a particular manner.
Therefore, she was made accused in the case. Counsel for the wife argued that the petitioner is the reason for her husband’s behaviour, so the petitioner should also stand trial and come clean in the case.
However, the court, referring to the chargesheet, noted that the petitioner’s name is found nowhere, except contending that she instigated the husband to torture the wife; otherwise, the petitioner would not fit into the definition of family under Section 498A IPC.
Referring to the judgment of the apex court in the case of Ramesh Kannojiya and another versus the state of Uttarakhand and another, the court said a stranger or neighbour being drawn into proceedings under Section 498A IPC is impermissible in law.