MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently directed the Madurai police to include Section 417 (punishment for cheating) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the IPC in an FIR registered against a man for marrying a woman allegedly without revealing that he was impotent. Justice V Sivagnanam gave the direction while hearing a petition filed by the woman, Fatima (name changed), who lodged a complaint against her husband early this year.
She said her husband’s first marriage failed due to his impotency. But hiding this issue, he married her after receiving 200 sovereign gold jewellery and other articles worth Rs 5 lakh, she added. When she came to know about the impotency and confronted him, he divorced her by saying talaq and went abroad, she added and lodged a complaint.
While the Tallakulam police registered a case under Sections 498-A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) of IPC, Fatima filed the petition requesting the court to direct the police to alter the FIR by including Sections 420, 417 and 379 (Punishment for theft) of IPC.
Perusing the complaint, Justice Sivagnanam observed that the petitioner’s husband had deceived her. He directed the police to add the offences under Sections 417 and 420 of IPC in the case and file a final report within four months, after receiving a report from the Social Welfare Department in Madurai.