Marriage Annulment Leads to Dismissal of Proceedings Against Accused in Case of Alleged Cruelty
In a significant ruling, the Kerala High Court has quashed the proceedings against the accused in a case involving alleged cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The judgment, delivered by Justice C. Pratheep Kumar, emphasized the necessity of a valid marriage for charges under Section 498A IPC to be applicable. The case, CRL.MC No. 6711 Of 2021, involved Umesh and others as petitioners, with the State of Kerala as the respondent.
The prosecution alleged that the first accused married the defacto complainant according to religious rites and ceremonies and subsequently subjected her to physical and mental cruelty, including the misappropriation of 15 sovereigns of her gold ornaments. However, the defense pointed to a Family Court judgment, which annulled the marriage between the first petitioner and the defacto complainant, arguing that this invalidated the charges under Section 498A IPC.
Justice Kumar referred to several precedents, including the Supreme Court's ruling in Shivcharan Lal Verma v. State of M.P. and P. Sivakumar v. State, both of which held that Section 498A IPC requires a valid marriage. The annulment of the marriage by the Family Court, Kannur, rendered the marriage null and void, thereby invalidating the charges of cruelty.
The court concluded that the absence of a valid marriage meant that the allegations under Section 498A IPC could not stand. Consequently, all further proceedings in the case pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Mattannur, were quashed.
Bottom Line:
Valid marriage is essential to attract the offence under Section 498A IPC. If the marriage is declared null and void by a competent court, the offence under Section 498A IPC will not lie against the accused.
Statutory provision(s): Section 498A IPC, Section 482 Cr.P.C.
Umesh v. State Of Kerala, (Kerala) : Law Finder Doc id # 2846364
