The courtroom mentioned the petitioners (the accused couple) have been handled like hardened criminals.
Mumbai:
Petty quarrels don’t quantity to cruelty, the Bombay Excessive Court docket mentioned on Thursday whereas quashing an FIR lodged in opposition to a senior citizen couple accused of harassing the estranged spouse of their adopted son.
A division bench of Justices Anuja Prabhudessai and NR Borkar additionally castigated the police for the way by which it performed the probe within the case and for treating the accused as hardened criminals.
The courtroom famous that whereas the mother-in-law died in the course of the pendency of the plea, the case in opposition to her too was quashed because it was essential to clear her title, picture and fame.
The bench, in its order, mentioned the petitioners (the accused couple) have been handled like hardened criminals by the police in the course of the investigation by freezing their financial institution accounts and FDs too.
The courtroom mentioned such motion was ”manifestly arbitrary and in opposition to the mandate of regulation”. ”The motion, which is completely excessive handed and arbitrary provides an impression of unfairness and /or ulterior motive,” the Excessive courtC mentioned.
”By such drastic and excessive handed motion, the Investigating Officer compelled the petitioner to beg and borrow cash from their family for his or her survival and sustenance, putting on the very proper to reside with human dignity,” the courtroom mentioned.
The courtroom additionally famous that regardless of an earlier order directing the police to not file a chargesheet within the case, the police went forward and submitted the identical.
This provides rise to a suspicion that the investigation is tainted and much from being truthful and neutral, the Excessive Court docket mentioned.
The courtroom mentioned the investigating officer doesn’t have unfettered discretion to model an harmless individual as an accused, to file chargesheet and ship her or him for trial.
Such an motion on the a part of the police would compel an harmless individual to method courtroom for discharge, quashing and even to undergo a trial, thereby, subjecting him to psychological trauma, humiliation, stigmatization and lack of fame, which might imperil his private liberty that’s sacred and sacrosanct, Excessive Court docket mentioned.
”Therefore, the investigation, which is alleged to be the spine of legal justice system, ought to always be truthful, correct and in accordance with constitutional ensures and authorized provisions,” the order mentioned.
The complainant had married the adopted son of the couple in 2018. She alleged that in her one-month keep along with her in-laws, they’d harassed her by consistently taunting her, smirking at her and never letting her contact the fridge.
The complainant mentioned she later went to Dubai to reside along with her husband, however returned to her dad and mom’ residence in India following harassment by him too.
The Excessive Court docket, in its order, nevertheless, famous that to show the offence of harassment underneath Part 498A of the Indian Penal Code, it must be established that the girl has been subjected to cruelty repeatedly or persistently or no less than in shut proximity of time of lodging the grievance.
”Petty quarrels don’t quantity to cruelty. Allegations in opposition to the petitioners that they taunted the girl, checked out her with a smirk, that they didn’t permit her to the touch the fridge and so forth even when accepted of their entirety don’t represent ’cruelty’ inside the which means of Part 498A of IPC,” the courtroom mentioned.
The bench famous that, in view of fixed threats and allegations from the girl and her father, the petitioners determined to distance themselves from their son to present him time and house to resolve his matrimonial dispute.
Additionally they issued a public discover in 2019 stating they’d determined to disown their son and so they had nothing to do together with his marital life.
The bench quashed the FIR and ordered for the financial institution accounts/ Fastened Deposits within the names of the petitioners to be de-freezed.
The courtroom additionally directed for a replica of its judgment to be forwarded to police commissioner to make crucial entry within the service file of the investigating officer for submitting chargesheet within the case regardless of an order from the courtroom to not achieve this.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)